Naruto: The Realm of Magic
by The Omnipresent Sage
Summary: Fate would not have Naruto die without living a long life. With a toss of a coin, Fate tossed Naruto into the world of Magic. He wondered aimlessly for years before coming across the Dragon Queen, who taught him magic. That set him up to being part of the Alvarez Empire, but he was never loyal to it. One day, he decides to go somewhere he can be free...
1. Chapter 1

A Dragon's breath and Tenrou Island just disappeared. If Acnologia was not disappointed at how it was easy it was to toss aside an entire Guild that was perhaps the strongest in Fiore, he would have been praising his strength. None of them had any strength to even make him consider them as nothing more than insects. And that Zeref had already disappeared. Acnologia could not think of any reason better than that he was afraid to face him. Though immortal, the black mage had not the power to face him. Where was he going to find a worthy foe? Someone who could entertain him. Someone he could rip apart after much labor and hard work.

Well, at least he managed to get rid of more Dragon Slayers. There were just a couple remaining. But even they were not worth hunting. He'd only even bothered flying over to this island because he had sensed Zeref's magic. A disappointing end. Acnologia flapped his wings, disappointed as he was, yet happy he had done what he'd set to do, he took the air. It was only when his face was slapped by a cloud that he sensed something on his head. He wanted to look, but it was on his head – he couldn't see. But nevertheless could sense the magic.

When he recognized the magic and the all familiar scent, Acnologia didn't bother talking to the mage. He just shook violently, blasting away the clouds that had gathered to mourn Tenrou Island. The person held firmly, not being shaken off him. Acnologia tucked his wings, and then faced down with his head. It was a free fall from there. Sea waters splashed into a gigantic wave as the Dragon King crashed into the sea, head first. When he blasted out of the water, there was no sign of the person on his head. Acnologia didn't go far, he just hovered above the waters, glaring down.

Naruto emerged from the waters before standing still, his long blond hair wet; he wore a long dark coat that was torn at edges; it had long sleeves nor no collars. Inside, from his waist, he was covered in bandages, half way through his chest, leaving a toned part exposed. Down, he wore dark blue shinobi pants and shinobi boots. A wooden stuff was visible from his left shoulder. On his right hand, he held a wet straw hat, his eyes were cast upon the hat rather than the monstrous dragon, leaking a menacing intent just above him.

"It's ruined," he said with disappointment before it became engulfed in blue dark blue flames. His eyes turned to the Dragon King.

Acnologia's very presence amounted to death. There was no normal person who could stand before the dragon and not have his survival instincts creaming for him to flee. The very first time Naruto had met the Dragon, a chance meeting, it had been. But the Dragon had not bothered saying a damn word to him. it had immediately gone onto the assault. He had barely escaped. A couple of more rounds like that, and over the years, the Dragon stopped trying to murder him simply for existing. In all those the Dragon tried to kill him, Naruto had never fought back – he'd always worked on an escape jutsu.

"I know you hate Dragon Slayers, but really, to try to eliminate everyone within the Island? Isn't that a bit too much?" Naruto asked, shaking his head to try to dry off the water dripping off his head.

Acnologia ignored what Naruto said. "Have you come to die as well?"

Naruto held up both his hands in surrender. "I still love my life. There are too many women that I have yet to explore. It would be a shame for me to die here. And I have not come to fight either. I have not yet reached the heights of immortality to do anything suicidal as trying to fight you."

Hearing that, Acnologia flapped his wings and started to fly away without responding to Naruto.

While he could count the number of times he's met the blonde, Acnologia could not count the number of years it has been since their first encounter. Still, the fact that Naruto was simply going to run from him bored him. Acnologia was bored of it. There was nothing fun about hunting something that did not fight back.

"Ah!" Naruto looked dumbfounded as he pointed towards the flying Dragon. "The damn Lizard just walked away from me!"

Naruto didn't bother trying to pursue the dragon, not when he had been shown the mercy. Ridiculous, in all his years, that was perhaps the longest dialogue he has ever exchanged with the Dragon. Trying to talk to Acnologia without any purpose of fighting was just a waste of time, not unless you were Irene or Zeref. He sighed and stared down at the water, looking at his reflection. He hated the image he saw. He had surely fallen from glory. He was no longer the person he once was. And seeing this face that looked innocent, irked him. He disturbed the waters to hide the image.

"That is just sad," Kurama said in an amused tone.

"Not as sad as the glorious Bijuu once infamous known for being able to wipe out mountains with a swing of just one of its nine tails, now turned into a tiny little cat," Naruto shot back in a flat tone.

"Ungrateful human! Had I not done what I did, we'd be dead!" Kurama shouted furiously.

"I didn't deny it, I am just stating my situation is not bad, compared to yours," Naruto said before smiling. "Well, let us not fight. We failed to do what we came here to do."

"And that was?" Kurama asked.

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment before shrugging when he could not think of anything. "Hmm, it must not have been important if I forgot about it," he said with nonchalance. "Still, can you believe that overgrown lizard just walked away from me?"

"Are you the one to make that reference?"

"Why do you focus on less important details?"

Kurama sighed. "Talking to you is a waste of time… the dragon probably sensed that one thing comes in from the other ear and goes through the other…"

"Are you suggesting that I don't listen?"

"I'm saying you don't listen to anyone." Kurama said in a stern tone. "Should we even stick around here?"

Naruto looked around. There were ships coming, and probably from the Magic Council. He didn't want to get tangled up in that. And besides, if the Council saw him, the Alvarez would know where he is. Flying under the raider was truly difficult. Still, he has managed to keep at it over the past months.

He held out his hands and released a long breath. "This was a little underwhelming though," he said as he started walking away. "I thought if we could come here maybe things would become interesting… should we return to hell?"

"Sticking around here is just going to attract the Magic Council's attention anyway," Kurama said. "Let me out…" The Nine tailed demon materialized on Naruto's right shoulder. Its form small, it was nothing more than a tiny tanuki. Kurama looked ahead. It was nothing more than just water. "You can see that you are just leading us farther into the sea, right?"

Naruto blinked before stopping. "I knew that," he said. "I just don't want to take into the air… as those people might see me."

"Yeah, right," Kurama said sarcastically. "Your lack of focus on other things will make you walk into a pit of flames one day…"

"Not possible…besides, I am the most focused person," he said before he started flying. While flying, he saw a boat with two people and then flew down.

"You're not just going down because it is women, are you?"

"Correction, there is woman and a child," Naruto said calmly. He landed on the small boat. As soon as he touched on it, he fell on his knees, feeling sick. "Arg!" He cried, holding out his guts from spilling. He crawled over to the sides of the boat, and dipped his head into the water.

"You're an idiot," Kurama said with a blank look on his face.

Ultear was trembling. She had just escaped death twice. Meredy could have killed her just now. And now, there was this. Her knees were shaking, her heart was pounding her ribcage furiously as if he wanted to flee. Every survival instinct inside of her screamed for her to jump into the waters. Even though this man looked to be sick, her brain told her to flee. The kind of magic she sensed was just monstrous. She'd never experienced anything like it. She didn't think possible.

Her eyes turned to Meredy. She was far worse than she was. Her eyes were wide. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost. Ultear could not blame her. She thought she'd seen powerful people, but it turned out, she had yet to see anything.

"It has been long since I felt such fear from humans," Kurama said with a wide grin. It was not his power that they feared but it didn't matter. Naruto and he were one.

Naruto removed his head from the waters. The boat was no longer moving. He felt alive again. That had been dangerous. He needed to ask Irene to set up that enchantment to fix this little problem. Once calm, he flipped around and settled gracefully.

"When Brandish first saw us, I believe she nearly wet herself," Naruto in thought, smiling. "But that is probably because she was still just a child and Irene was there. I wonder if she is still afraid of the woman."

"I really don't care," Kurama said.

"You are cold to my troubles, partner. Maybe we should have died in the face of the Otsutsuki," Naruto said before turning to Ultear. He fear was obvious. He smiled. "Sorry about that. Let me turn it down a bit for you… we don't want the little one dying of shock…"

Ultear could now breathe freely. She cast a glance towards Meredy. She was breathing heavily, as if a moment ago, she had been suffocated.

"This is your fault… because our powers are now combined, the peaceful energy I once gave off has been replaced by a murderous intent," Naruto said with a stare.

Kurama snorted. "You've just become much more twisted…' he then grinned. "Well, I won't admit that my power has some effect…" he said.

"Who are you?" Ultear asked, after finding her voice.

Naruto faced the woman. He recognized her. "You are a member of the Magic Council…" he said. "I have bad luck..." his glance became a hard stare and his tone demanded an answer. "Where is Zeref?"

"I don't know…"

"You're not lying," Naruto said before adopting a thoughtful look on his face. "It seems he has gone… but I'd sensed his magic just before Acnologia attacked…" he said as he started floating above the above. A second later, he was gone.

* * *

Naruto was lying under a tree, straw hat covering his face, with Kurama lying on his chest. Irene just stared at this careless person with cold eyes. How long has he gone missing from her? Not mention the Empire. She had frustrated every way she knew how to find him, and yielded no results. When it came to hiding, from her especially he was rather good at it. Her grip on her stuff strengthened slightly as she thought of trying to hit him or turning him into that mysterious fox lying on him, but knowing him, he probably had a magic set to guard against enchantments.

Instead, she just kicked him.

"Ow!" Naruto cried as his eyes snapped open. "What was that for?"

Irene poked the blonde with her stuff on the side of his chest. "How long were you going to pretend to be asleep?"

Naruto closed both his eyes and then opened just one eye, and glanced at Irene for a second before smiling. "I was hoping you'd put a foot on my face so I can get a better view of there…" he said casually. "Are you not going to amuse me?"

"I do not serve to amuse you," Irene responded by hitting him on his left knee with her stuff.

"Ouch!" Naruto cried while lifting up his left foot. Despite the movements, Kurama didn't move, he just kept sleeping as if nothing was happening. "You'll break my leg!"

Break him? Irene thought it was laughable. There probably wasn't any human who could match him in terms of physical strength. Naruto trained with the obsession of a jealous demon trying to impress a lover. She could never follow his route when it came to training his body. But that was simply due to self-loathing. He didn't want to use his magic or at least its most potent spells. When was the last time she even saw him using his true magic?

All that power wasted. And he has shown much promise. Even Zeref had been impressed when he first saw him. But now, he was just an average mage with a hidden potential. Some children simply could not grow out of their naivety. But he was not a child, was he?

"Where have you been?"

Naruto massaged his knee in silence before placing both hands below his head. He then closed his eyes and responded. "There and there," he said with indifference. "You have been looking for me."

Did she care that much that she would be worried for his safety? Naruto didn't think so. Maybe she cared for him a little, but not enough to do certain things when it came to the Empire. But she also would not care enough to even look for him if it was on the command of August. Hell, if the others branded him a traitor, she wouldn't even blink and would make no attempt to hunt him down. Their relationship was like that. It had never been one based in emotions… although, over the last years, there has been flashes of it. But it was never allowed to blossom, lest it became an inconvenience.

Despite all that, she would kill him if she has the chance. Not going after him would simply be because she has other better things to do than waste time chasing someone who'll eventually come to her.

"I'm not bothered by your disappearing acts since this isn't the first time nor the longest time you disappeared from me," Irene said. "But this isn't like those years back then when the Empire did not know you. I'm rather displeased that you also went your way to avoid me," she said in a cold tone.

Naruto opened his right eye to look at Irene. Her cold eyes were staring at him with intensity that would make a small person wet with sweat. Despite that look, she was still a beautiful woman. Age aside, and the fact that she was a dragon, she was truly a beautiful woman. If his old self ever saw that he held a partnership with a sadistic woman who murdered people without blinking, he'd be shocked heartless and Kurama would probably laugh. But that was just a mere past that held no bearing into his current life. Here, he was simply Naruto – and nothing more.

He did as he pleased and whenever he pleased. If he felt like channeling a Shikamaru, he could do it and then sleep all day. It was his freedom. There were no dreams to become something – to prove to people that he was good and could become the greatest. He'd achieved his dreams and was satisfied with them.

"Of course, you'd be displeased," he said. "But I thought we spoke about this. Besides, this is not the first time I disappear."

"What you pulled years ago hasn't been forgotten," Irene reminded him. "If you start disappearing like this, Invel becomes anxious and plots something dangerous. And if they all come after you, you probably won't survive since you refuse to use your magic."

"I wouldn't stay in a place where they could fight me. And I do use my magic… just not in its fullness," Naruto said. "That incident was years ago, and I was only fulfilling Zeref's wishes, even though he didn't say anything… and it is a example that I am always prepared to use that magic, if the need arises," the blond paused before changing the subject. "Have you come to take me back?"

"I do not care if you return or stay away. But you cannot keep doing this. You must decide if you still want to be part of the Empire or not. And if you decide to leave and should you ever stand in my way, there will be no mercy."

Naruto smiled. "I wouldn't expect anything less," he said calmly. "If you have not come to collect me, what do you want?"

"Where have you been?"

Naruto sighed. "Ishgar," he said. "Then?"

Irene narrowed her eyes dangerously. "You enjoy going there. This is not the first time you have gone to Ishgar when you have disappeared. When we were going to war, you opposed it… but you have no attachment to the continent, so why do you consistently go there?"

"There are many beautiful women," Naruto answered. "And they are not cold hearted and sadistic. They are actually tender and loving, unlike some people," he said. "Did you find it?"

"I did, but I didn't tell anyone. August may have seen it nevertheless. Nothing much escapes his eyes when it comes to Magic. It was rather reckless of you to leave it there for longer periods knowing that if it accumulated too much magic, it would become noticeable."

"I'd forgotten… and I'm only remembering now because I see that cold hearted look on your face. It is more or the same look you had when you were teaching me magic," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head.

"When you decide to return, you will explain it to me plainly." Irene said before turning away from him. She stopped and glanced back with sharp eyes. "That is clear, yes?"

"Yes, mam!"

Irene disappeared without another word.

"What do you even see in that woman?" Kurama asked after Irene walked away.

He had lived with her and he knew just how cold she was. But he had never exchanged too many words with her, not when Naruto was not around. His existence, his being, it was one thing that she has tried to figure out unsuccessfully and no matter what she tries with Naruto, the blond has refused to go any farther than telling her his name. She'd stopped trying and now she just ignored him. But still, she was way too unpleasant for Naruto. He didn't have to hate himself if he willingly kept in the company of such people.

"You wouldn't understand even if I told you my fury friend," Naruto responded with a tiny smile on his lips.

"Have you become a masochist?"

Naruto laughed. "Not at all," he said. "People can be cold, heartless, commit mass murder, and yet still love someone. The human heart is a very interesting thing. I never did actually think Irene could care for someone. In the first day our paths crossed, she didn't try to lead me with false pretense, she showed me just how cruel she was. I mean, she loudly contemplated ways of making me suffer for kicking one of her children. Of course, she is also a liar. She isn't every honest," he said.

"You have come quite cruel yourself. At some point, I didn't think that it would be possible."

Naruto shrugged. "A person can become anything and anyone. The most humble person can become a ruthless killer with pain and the thought of vengeance. I've thought of it, it is usually the fear that stops people from doing many things. But when you lose that sense of fear, you can do anything. I guess I have lost that fear as well… and that is why I do anything."

"And you'll never regain, not unless a miracle occurs."

"Maybe I'll fall in love," Naruto responded with a smile.

Kurama snorted. "You shouldn't even think of leaving the Shields… you are quite like them… but a little more conservative, like August," he said. "Well, not that I care either way… as long as you are alive, I am alive…"

"So much for having a partner who cares," Naruto said before falling silent.

The Shields. Their last war had stopped, and it was him and the Council. They were going to try again. And Naruto didn't know if he cared enough to even try to stop them. Either way, sticking around with them no longer served any purpose. He'd stuck around, done some good and horrible things. The magic that he had learned from Irene and caused much terror than even the most cruel would applaud. It had been a rather unpleasant start to his life here, but he had ended it when he'd come to his senses. It didn't help that the Shields were brutal human 'monsters' who wanted to crush anything that stood in the way.

"The decision before us is not a small one," Naruto said in a tired tone. "I have been thinking about it long and there probably is no other way to do things. Maybe I've become even twisted – this other day, I thought Zeref was actually a very nice person," he said with a slight shake of his head.

"He can be a nice person…" Kurama stressed.

"But he can turn into something else entirely devilish," Naruto said. "Departing no doubt is the right option here."

"Are you sure about that?"

Naruto understood what Kurama was asking. They would hunt him down. They would not want to leave him be. But Zeref would probably not care. He'd never been loyal to anyone but himself either way. But Naruto was ready to leave – though not ready to fight the Shields of the Emperor. He could afford to live his life freely, seeing women naked, exploring new magic and strengthening himself to be able to face the dangers of this world. Though not ready to fight the Spriggan, Naruto didn't fear them. What did he fear anyway? He'd stopped fearing Acnologia long ago. He didn't fear his own death.

"Leaving is also saving the little humanity I have left. I don't want to lose that..." Naruto said in a firm tone. "I like myself dearly…" he said. "But we must be prepared or anything…"

"If I still had my power, there would be no need to worry," Kurama said confidently.

If… this had been a disappointing turn of events. Surviving the turn of events in the shinobi world had come at a cost, a great cost for that matter. But who could have thought that after the power he gained along with Sasuke, there would be someone else who could come with greater power?

"We will restore you," Naruto said firmly. "But it will require time… I thought if I stuck around these people for long enough, I would be able to gather enough magic while saving my life. But then, I could not simply abandon Irene after everything she did for us…"

Those Shields, despite their power, they were literally just children before him. Of course, he could not count August and Irene. The dragon queen was a ba-chan. She was old. Naruto had lived his fair share number of years that would make even a pure Uzumaki envious, but it was nothing compared to the number of years Irene has lived.

"You're being too nice," Kurama warned. "I thought you'd lost all that naivety in you… You actually thought that you could change her at first. It must be the reason why you still cannot leave her despite knowing just how much of a cruel person she is," the Bijuu said, staring at Naruto.

Naruto frowned. He was being lectured. He smacked the fox on his head and then grinned. "You're too small to lecture me," he said.

Kurama glared at the blond murderously. He felt frustrated right now. He still had the strength to toss the blond to the side despite his small form. But Naruto was likely to avoid him or just laugh it off. That green Jonin from Konoha would be proud with just how much Naruto trained his muscles to be fit. Trying to get him on physical attacks was at times a waste of time. Kurama sighed and thought against attack the blond.

"There there… good pet," Naruto said patting the Kyubi on its head.

Kurama tossed the hand away and jumped on Naruto's face. His paws grabbed the blond's ears, and he glared. Naruto grabbed him by his tails but did not pull knowing that he would only be in pain if he did. Kurama smiled dangerously. "I may not have much, but how hurt would you be if I hit you with a Bijuudama from his distance?"

Naruto still grinned. "Don't you mean mini-mini Bijuudama?" He said with a laugh.

"I won't let you go… if you blast me away, I take both your ears with me. You'll regrow them, but you'll still suffer the pain. Either way, there is pain in the end, right?" Kurama said.

"You cold hearted Bijuu… I'm not letting you out again…"

"You will," Kurama said with confidence. "I'm certain that you won't just allow me to hit you, and if I release a jutsu, I will lose my energy and will be forced to return… I want to stay out a bit… for you to avoid pain, why don't you apologize for mocking me?"

"Sorry, Kyubi-sama. I didn't mean t-" Naruto trailed off when he sensed a spike of energy. "Wow wow… come on Kurama… you don't ha-!" Naruto shouted, in panic mode while trying to pull the Bijuu away from him.

Boom!

Kurama shot a powerful beam of crimson energy from his mouth, hitting the blond straight on his face. When everything settled, Naruto's head was badly burnt, but his eyes were wide open. Although it was a little unrecognizable, he had a deep frown on his lips. Green energy covered his face before healing him completely. He stood there for a moment before sighing as he got up.

"I'm going to allow Irene to do an enchantment on you to turn you into a dog," he threatened. "But for now, we must leave here since you exposed us by releasing magic."

Kurama shrugged. Honestly that felt good. Naruto had made fun of him for too long. He didn't care if someone found them.

"That woman sounded serious… you don't wanna be gone for too long from her," he said.

"I never said when I would return. Irene does not control me in anyway."

"Since when? You used to follow her like a dog at one stage."

* * *

Naruto looked below his hat, scanning the Palace of the Emperor. How many years since he last stepped into this treacherous place that housed inhuman people who followed the most dangerous mage to have ever lived in Earthland? Naruto shook his head. Indifferent to death as he was when in the mood, Zeref did not merit the same kind of evil the Magic Council bestowed on his name. Still, his followers had no love. Naruto had seen it all. He'd been part of it. He'd been part of them. Although not truly a shield in the sense, he'd been part of them. He'd stood before the Emperor and shared some moments. But it was going to come to an end. Probably, no matter what Zeref could do in the future, he was never going to hate the Mage. But it didn't mean he couldn't try to kill him.

Shaking his head, Naruto placed both his hands inside his pockets, and slowly walked through the streets. It was very lively. As it has always been. The history of the Emperor here was different from Ishgar. Some of these people didn't even know Ishgar called their Emperor Zeref. But that had been his home. He just left it to form this great Empire.

"Should I make a cool entrance, Kurama?" Naruto asked.

"You have too much time to waste. Don't include me in such nonsense. You're not going to say anything stupid that'll have us leaving in a hurry, are you?" Kurama asked. Naruto tended to say anything that came to mind, especially when a little excited.

"I'm not that stupid."

"Sometimes I wonder. You have grown but sometimes you act like that stupid brat who was dense and blind as a blind man."

"That's not fair," Naruto said. "To compare me to a blind man is just not fair."

"To the blind man," Kurama said with a laugh. "Well, I'll admit you've grown. But I won't bail you out if you get excited and say something that will have them turn on you. And I would rather we not run…" it hurt his pride too much to tuck his tails and then run. It was simply to better to just avoid confrontation than face humiliation.

"It is not that you could help if you wanted to… these days, the only use you are to me is simply keeping from getting bored," Naruto said.

Kurama ignored Naruto.

The palace guards didn't mind him. The only reason he'd even come here was because the Spriggan had gathered. Well, at least some of them would do so. They usually didn't honor a call to have a meeting. As he slowly walked towards the throne room, Naruto saw Brandish and then smiled. Out of everyone within this palace, she was the only person who had light in her. It was not to say she was not capable of cruel acts… she was, but she was still nice person. If one was to go on a murdering spree, she would be left alive.

When last did he see her? She seemed to have grown a bit. It was nice that she had grown into a beautiful young woman.

He concealed his presence and tried to sneak up behind her. Being a shinobi helped in this manner. Sneaking up on people was much easier. It was laughable that he only learned the trade when he had grown. But it was still useful.

Brandish squealed she felt a sudden touch on the sides of her chest. The touch had been a little sensitive. She twisted around, ready to cast her magic to whoever harassed her like that. But when she saw the amused look on Naruto, she smiled and lunged at him.

"Naruto!" She exclaimed and happily hugged him.

A woman who was thought provoking in the way she dressed. As she held her, Naruto felt her soft skin, her pleasant smell. It was not fair. He had known her when she was even a child – even though she had not known him then. But who cared, she was a grown woman now.

"Brandish," Naruto uttered softly. "Good seeing you again… half naked… I mean…" he added with a wide smile.

Brandish quickly pulled herself away from Naruto. She didn't bother trying to cover herself. There was nothing in Naruto's eyes that made her feel naked – despite his words. But then again, he could fool anyone with his words. She sighed and turned to walk towards the throne room without responding to it.

"I thought you were dead…" She said, glancing at him through the corner of her eyes.

"That's a little harsh."

Brandish shrugged. "It is what one naturally thinks when a person suddenly disappears. It did appear that even Lady Irene didn't know where you were," she said. "Got into a great battle?" She said, glancing at the bandages. He usually kept his chest exposed, wearing just that magic enhanced coat.

Naruto placed his right hand on his stomach. "A little accident with magic…" be said with a sheepish smile. "Date later on?"

Brandish shook her head. "Your standing is a little questionable right now. Its been two years. If I stick around you, it will only bring trouble for me," she said. "Have that cleared out and we can hang out…"

Naruto sighed. He should have expected her to give such a response. Then it must mean that these people have been talking about him. If Brandish already saw it as troublesome, then there was trouble. Then again, his record hasn't been that great recently. He allowed Brandish to step into the throne room as he stayed outside.

"There is a presence in there I am not familiar with," he said to Kurama. "How should we go in there?"

"How about walking through the doors?" Kurama responded with a blank look.

"No; there is no drama in that. I want something curious. What if a transform into Zeref and then have them all kneel before me?' He asked with a smile, just happy about the image he saw.

"If you want to die, go ahead."

"August would be the one to actually try to shoot me for disrespecting the Emperor," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "His zeal for his master is that of a fanatical demon. The demons of Tartaros do their all to awaken END, but it is their passion that one can compare with the passion the Wizard King shows to his father."

"It is good you didn't get sucked into it," Kurama said.

Naruto nodded. The large double doors stood before him and not knowing how to make a grand entrance, he just kicked them open, forcing all eyes to turn on him. August, Irene, Dimaria, Brandish and the person he recognized as a former Wizard Saint were the ones present in the throne room.

"I have returned my friends!" He announced.

"We appreciate you returning," Invel suddenly said, appearing behind him. The Winter General stopped on his right side and pushed up his glass before speaking. "You have a lot of questions to answer…" he then snapped his fingers.

"Hmm?" Naruto looked down, to see his hands locked by an ice chain. He smiled. "Isn't this a little bit of an overreaction?" He could see why Brandish had gone as far as to reject a chance to dine with him – she'd never done that before. Then again, she was a sad child then. He'd been nice and cared for her – as August has.

"An overreaction would have been having you chained the moment you arrived and then controlling your mind to see if you are still loyal and make you answer some questions," Invel said as he walked towards the others who were standing in a circle.

Dimaria looked at him with a small smile. It looked like a sinister smile. She was most definitely happy to see him in such a state. Their first meeting hadn't been like this. He'd liked what he saw. But things changed. He hated her rotten personality and she hated his mere presence and loved to see him suffer. Perhaps disliking her was also due to her personality. Naruto shook his head: Irene was cold, but he didn't have a problem with her. From his look, Naruto couldn't tell what August was thinking and he didn't try to think about it. Irene looked at him with cold eyes. Perhaps she was displeased that he had chosen come to come here before going to see her. And the new member, well, he just seemed excited for some reason.

The atmosphere hasn't changed. Except for the children growing.

Naruto followed Invel and decided to sit down next to Irene. "Sitting is okay, no, General?"

"As long as you answer questions."

Naruto settled down gracefully and turned to face God Serena. It was not hard to recognize the man who was once hailed as the strongest in Ishgar. But now he was here. He was not the strongest. He was nothing here – just a Shield. What would possess a man to leave the glory of being the top dog in an whole continent to become a mere tool here? He shook his head – perhaps he was never a good person to begin with. The Magic Council wasn't even ruled by good people. It was all just people who did what they thought, making rules as they go. Sometimes they just made shit up. It was that line that whatever the Council painted as black was black.

For God Serena to leave the Council absolutely made no difference. On the balance of power, Ishgar had lost an asset. It was said that the gap between Serena and the others gods was frighteningly big. But if he went to the other side, it would even things, no?

"Dragon Slayer? No, you are not a dragon…" Naruto said evening God Serena. "You should have stayed in Ishgar. With Acnologia hunting down all those who smell like a Dragon, you will surely die if you come across him."

God Serena merely grinned. He was not scared of Acnologia. The Dragon was a king and he was a God. Kings bowed before Gods.

Dimaria snorted. "Says the coward who tugs in a tail between his legs and runs off whenever he sees Acnologia…"

Naruto tossed his eyes towards Dimaria. That look on her face – she was looking down on him. He wanted nothing more than to lunge and lie on top of her. Perhaps she would respect him a bit.

"You should applaud that fact that I have stood before Acnologia and lived to tell the story," Naruto said. "What would you do if you faced him? None of you here have the power to defeat the Dragon…" he stopped short of telling Dimaria that not even Zeref had the power. August would quickly turn on him if he said something so disrespectful.

"I am confident in my chances," Dimaria said in a sharp tone. "But what is proven is that you can run fast. I don't know what his Majesty saw in someone as pathetic as you… despite not being one of us, he permitted you to be here."

"Sometimes I think you and I shared a bed and I failed to satisfy you, which is why you look at me with such disdain," Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. "But one day, I will show you just how awesome Naruto is…"

"We can go now!"

"Well I'm a little tied up," Naruto said holding up both his hands. "But if you want to get nasty now, I don't mind… we could…"

"Enough!" August cut in. "Invel, ask him your questions so we can get to it."

"Where have you been? And why have you been ignoring calls to return to the palace? I know your received messages… I just could never track down your location," Invel demanded, in a stern tone.

"There and there," Naruto said with a careless shrug of his shoulders. "I'm not the only one who ignores calls, so, there is no need to be questioned."

"We do not question the other's loyalties. But ever since we halted our plans to invade Ishgar, you have been out of control," Invel said.

Out of control? Perhaps he just showed them a little side of himself that he didn't show them before. But before then, there had never been the talk of invading Ishgar. These people had done their fair share of destruction and he had taken part in some of that chaos, but invading Ishgar had been a step a little too far. There would have been too much pain and suffering. War was never a pleasant thing. He had seen it. And these people had no problem in killing others. It would not have been right with him if he allowed it to happen.

"Are you not going to answer questions?" Invel demanded. "I can do this the hard way. The reason I refuse to do so is that you have been someone I worked along with in understanding and I would not be honest to say you have not been helpful in some troubling situations. But I won't hesitate to use force."

Naruto turned to Irene, just to see if she would intervene, but the woman just gave him a cold stare, as if daring him to drag her into his mess. He shook his head. What a cold woman, he thought.

"You've always looked at me with an eye of suspicion, thinking I became a spy for the Council… I guess that is never going to clear up any time soon…" the blond sighed. "At this moment, I am with you… I have not betrayed you people. What I do in my free time is not up for discussion. If you want to use force, try it. But know that I won't roll aside."

Invel frowned. Naruto did have a tough mental defense. There was just so much about the blond that he still could not understand. He never seemed bothered by anything, and sometimes when he did, it was just an overreacting, just for theatrics. He glanced at August for approval, and the man gave a subtle nod. Still, Invel didn't free Naruto from the locks that chained his hands.

"Please leave us, Naruto."

Naruto tilted his head to the side before simply floating while in the same position. He flew out of the throne room and the doors shut in behind him. Once out, he settled down and looked at the Ice and shaking them off in a simple movement. They just shattered within a second. He closed his eyes and leaned against the wall by the entrance.

"It is such an unpleasant feeling knowing that you are not trusted," Naruto said to Kurama in a sad tone.

"Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"You care about being trusted by those people?"

Naruto shrugged. "We have certain urges that we are not all proud of," he said. "But it is good that we are leaving. If things got any worse, they would have suspected us of something."

"It was long coming," Kurama said. "What do you think they are talking there? Despite differences, August had never permitted for you to be kicked out of the place as they talk."

What were they talking about it? A lot has been happening over the past couple of years. And not too long ago, Acnologia did make an appearance. They probably didn't know about it since the Magic Council kept such things to themselves. It was ridiculous for the authority in regulating the use of Magic, the Council had no answer to Acnologia but the only people actually thinking of defeating the Dragon king were these unkind people. They had their reasons but it did not take way the fact that they were making plans to deal with the dragon.

"Time has passed since Acnologia made an appearance. They probably know about it. And even if they do not know anything about it, they probably see the changes with the Grand Magic Games and God Serena now joining them. It is safe to say Ishgar is now weakened…" Naruto said. "Last year's games appeared not to have been that interesting. We will see how this year's games will be."

"You plan on going?"

"Of course," Naruto said with a smile. "It should be fun if we could go and make an appearance, just for the fun of things."

"You want the magic council to turn on you?"

Naruto shrugged. "The Council has nothing to do with the games," he said. "Either way, if they don't attack, they will wait for Zeref to return and then try again. But perhaps motives will be different this time around. I don't know, Zeref never told me all things about his past. I only know about END…" he then paused. "Maybe we could go demon hunting."

"It isn't like I have a choice in that," Kurama said.

Naruto sighed. "Fine, we can just be lazy like you until something interesting happens," he said.

* * *

Irene felt some relief with everything proceeding without Naruto being mentioned and her name not being dragged into it. She was the one to come with him, but it was not her idea to place him into the palace. The emperor was the one who did. She'd been fine with him being just around her as she understood part of his thinking. The others probably saw no concern with him – they didn't know the extent of his magic nor have they even seen it. Irene couldn't remember the last time Naruto used his real magic. Within this room, it was her who knew it. August had seen glimpses of it when around the time they tried to invade Ishgar.

When she was trying to leave the room, August stopped her. Wishful thinking. When had she become so naïve to think that August would not ask questions- especially if he saw what she found in the country?

"We must talk about Naruto."

Irene glanced at Invel. The boy had stood behind. Irene held no relevant thought towards him. Her cold eyes turned towards August. He stared back, unblinking. "What is there to talk about?"

"His Majesty told me this 7 years ago: Naruto will eventually leave us, but I hope he does not leave us." August said, much to the surprise of Invel.

7 years ago? He knew the blond was much older than he looked and actually got along with the Emperor. No, their friendship appeared to be too pleasant at times. But still, if August knew this, why didn't he say anything?

"Are you going to stop him from leaving?"

"He also told me that if Naruto does leave, he will be useful in a fight against Acnologia." August said. But that had been only been when the Emperor was in his sad mood, thinking about dying. Perhaps had changed now. Either way, Naruto was still not someone they could take lightly. "If there is someone who must stop him; that is you. He is your responsibility and has always been."

"I got it; If Naruto ever steps before us to stop the Empire's plans, I will kill him with my own hands," Irene said. "Is that all?"

Invel had a couple of questions regarding Naruto, and Irene was the only person who could answer most of them. Problem was that he could not demand answers from her. "Given your very personal relationship with him, will you be able to do it? We should just kill him now if he is going to be a problem?"

While Irene just gave Invel a passing glance, August gave a response to this. "Invel, have you seen Naruto's true magic? You know he knows dragon slaying magic, but have you ever seen him use it before?"

Invel had never seen it – not even once. If you asked the blond if he was a Dragon Slayer, he would deny it and say he doesn't even know the magic. As far as Invel was concerned, the blond utilized his stuff to negate most forms of magic. When it came to physical attacks, he could withstand anything. Invel wouldn't even think of trying to contend with the blonde in physical attacks.

"No, but if it is a concern, then logically thinking, we shouldn't even allow him to leave," Invel said firmly.

"You can try to stop him if you want," Irene said with a slight wave of her free hand. "If that is all, August-san, I will be departing."

Irene turned away from the two; she could feel August's cold stare. The aged wizard probably didn't want to face Naruto in here, it would cause massive destruction if the blond decided to fight back. He usually didn't these days. But that didn't mean he took punches for free – he avoided them. But if they showed clear intentions of trying to kill him, he would openly act against them. August respected Naruto's battle power – at the same time, he didn't think of it as much of a concern that he thought they needed to risk things getting rid of him.

Moments Earlier

Brandish stopped outside when she saw Naruto leaning against the wall on her right side. He looked like he was sleeping. He could be so carefree at times and never really seemed to think deeply about certain things. She walked towards him and stopped inches away from him. She thought of turning his head small, just for the fun of it, but his eyes snapped open.

"I can sense that mischievous part of you trying to do something funny," the blond said with a smile, his face moving closer to Brandish's.

Brandish stared for a moment but she was suddenly pulled away by Dimaria. "Don't stay too close to the likes of him, you'll get affected by his treacherous sickness."

Brandish found this at times amusing. These two always bickered. Naruto was not the person who was usually around, but whenever he was, there was always sparks. "What happened between you two? Sometimes you sound like a couple who broke up on really bad terms," she said.

"Me and him? I'd die innocent than be with him."

Naruto smiled. "Don't listen to her, Brandish. We were actually lovers at one point… though, it only lasted one night. She wanted something serious, and I ditched her… since then, she has been on a mission to get back at me… she'd probably stab me with her blade if I showed her my back…"

Dimaria glared at Naruto. "If it was worth the effort, I'd reject that." She then turned to Brandish. "I would be careful if I were you. You'll get hunted down if you become suspect and I won't show mercy." She then activated her age seal, stopping time. Her expression was blank when she faced Naruto. "Then, what happened to you? You enjoying showing off your body, what happened?' she said looking at the bandages.

"You also like showing off your body," Naruto then smiled slyly. "Not that I don't like the view. I quite enjoy it…" he said.

"I have no problems in stopping to talk to you."

Naruto sighed. "Why do you hate me so much, Dimaria?"

"You know why."

"I don't think it is fair," Naruto said with a shake his head. "I nearly killed myself some time ago… I spent about six months to heal naturally without the help of magic. I was playing around with space and time… because of the nature of my magic that doesn't like me wielding other forms of magic, I ended up getting cut in half."

Dimaria laughed. "You should have stayed dead."

"Now, that is a little cold," Naruto said. "I lost a lot of blood and had it not been for a clone, things could have been dangerous… it is at those moments that I wished I was immortal…"

"Why didn't you use magic to heal yourself?"

Naruto raised an index finger. "Regeneration comes at a cost of diminishing the life of ones cells… I only handled things that would keep me from dying. My body has already gone through enough punishment…" Naruto said. "I need more time with Chronos to learn more about time…"

"No… I'm not telling you anything… you are a traitor. You are going to leave, aren't you?"

"Is that what August decided?"

"No, but you never swore loyalty to the Empire and refused to be officially made one of the Spriggan… my answer is no… hell no… you can try and kill yourself… at least that will save you from being killed by Irene," Dimaria said before cancelling her magic. She then walked away without saying a damn word.

* * *

Irene stopped outside the throne room and spoke without facing Naruto. "Follow me," she ordered.

Naruto smiled at Brandish before turning to Irene. "Yes, Your Majesty," he said as he walked towards her.

Irene took Naruto into a secluded area in a forest. Her grip on her stuff strengthened as she stood just in front of him. There was no emotion in her eyes. Her stuff glowed red before shooting a point blank beam of energy that hit Naruto on his bandages head on. The blast sent Naruto crashing into a tree on his back. He didn't move an inch while planted on the trunk of the tree, he just stared without emotion at the incoming dragon queen, unbothered by her desire to inflict pain on him.

"I told you to come and see me, but you did not," Irene said as she stopped just inches away from him. He wasn't harmed by her attack – not even a little. She placed her claws on his bandaged stomach, and dug. This caused a reaction from Naruto as he yelped painfully. "I don't like repeating myself or having to do things the way you do them."

Naruto gave Irene a pained smile. "That isn't completely true… at least the last part. You always do as you please. When was the last time you even stood before Brandish? She was just a child the last time you appeared…"

"Don't mistake our positions," Irene warned Naruto. "I can do what I want, but you cannot."

Ah, so August had given her the message. Naruto smiled a bit sadly. It was such a sad end to things. "Seeing you before coming here did not serve any priority… and besides, I knew you were going to be violent…"

Irene was silent for a couple of moments before retreating her hand. "I did not teach you magic so that you can become this… You are supposed to be useful to me. When a tool stops being useful, you cast it aside. But I cannot cast you aside, your knowledge, your magic, it is all dangerous… I did not intend for you to even be a problem to me… Should I not just kill you here or make you suffer until you learn your place?"

Naruto matched Irene's coldness, only for a second. He removed himself from the tree's trunk and stood face to face with her, just inches away from her. He could feel her cold breath. That stare that threatened to make his eyes explode. Naruto touched the scar on the side of her stomach.

His lips touched Irene's, but she did not respond, she just stared at him. Naruto smiled sadly, but he did not remove his hand from her scar. "Fate can be such a cruel thing" He said. "But let us correct something; I was never your tool, and you know that. I want to think that our relationship meant more than that. You might want to refuse it, but that is okay. You taught me magic because I asked, and paid the price for it. I only stuck around because it was convenient, and our relationship. But apparently, that doesn't seem to mean anything to you." He stepped back and sat down, leaning against the tree's trunk with one knee raised.

Naruto hadn't counted the number of years, but it has been about 10 years since he came to know this woman, and 7 since he arrived at the Empire. There other members were all just children then. Brandish had grown. She had truly grown well. But her fear of Irene had never grown. She was still a bit of a child. And Dimaria, how long? Larcade was just another person, he'd spoken to him once or twice.

But through all these years, Irene was the only person he constantly spoke with. He hadn't been a stray dog when she taught him some magic. Her first thought at seeing him had been to simply murder him. But he had convinced her otherwise.

Irene looked up for a moment before glancing down at Naruto. "If you leave and become an enemy of the Alvarez of the Empire, I have been told to kill you, and I will kill you. I'm tempted to do it now."

Naruto smiled, "Well, that isn't going to happen. I can't allow you."

Irene narrowed her eyes. "For someone who refuses to use his magic simply because he caused a slaughter while out of control, you are awfully confident."

"I've always been confident." Besides, it was not completely true that he refused to use his magic.

"You've become weak mentally and a little naïve. If you allow yourself to be tormented by killing a couple of people, you'll die soon." Irene said.

Naruto smiled. He had his reason for doing things the way he did them. And no one was going to dictate how he did them. Not even a person like Irene or August. "Let us say our goodbyes, Irene. I would rather not stay here before Invel sends someone after me. I don't want to make enemies."

"That is a naïve way of looking at things. Just because you left without fighting anyone doesn't mean you are not an enemy. Invel has already planned for your death because he will now view you as a threat to his master," Irene said.

"Well that is a little troubling, but not unexpected," Naruto said with a thoughtful look on his face. "What did you find?"

"A magic device with a magical mirror. Although there was a barrier protecting the mirror, I managed to put my hand through it and I found a lacrima hidden within it. You have been gathering energy, but not just any energy, but energy from nature. You aren't the reason some mountains dried up, would you?"

"Who knows?" Naruto said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "That isn't a problem. Anyone can gather energy as they see fit." He placed his hand on his chest: A black tattoo appeared. There were just strange marks that stretched through his chest into his throat.

Irene's eyes scanned through the rune… Naruto called it a seal. It was some fine work that did not escape her understanding. And she could understand some symbols. He had after all, showed her bit of this magic.

"I won't tell you all the uses of this thing, but one thing I developed it for was for storing those lacrimas with natural energy. This becomes my second source of magic, and for any other spell I know, I can use using this energy. However, at my first attempt, there was a bit of an accident," Naruto said placing his hand on his stomach. "Natural energy is potent and not easy to control. An accident occurred, and it exploded… spilling out my guts. I'm all healed now, but I thought the look was much better than the previous one."

"You are hiding something from me," Irene said. "There is also something that I could have found that you are not telling me."

Naruto shrugged. "Speculation my queen," he said with a smile. "I saw your daughter by the way… I was quite surprised to see that she was alive. But when I saw her, there was no mistaking her, and she looked like you… it is a pity that though a kind person, her mother is a cold hearted woman who cares for little… well, when you have seen wars and lived for this long, you stopped caring for many things…"

Irene was silent for a moment. "Who told you to look for her?"

"Hm, I wasn't looking for her… I was looking for His Majesty…" Naruto said. "But are you not curious even a little?"

"No," Irene said sharply. "I do not care that I have a daughter. If I was curious at all, I would have tried looking for her…" she said.

"Liar," Naruto said but didn't push it. "Well, a week after I saw her, Acnologia appeared and killed everyone because she was in the presence of Dragon Slayers. It was in that moment that I lost track of the Emperor. Or maybe he just avoided me…"

"She is dead then."

"I didn't say that… but it appears so, or maybe not… they disappeared before Acnologia could hit them. It was an interesting magic, but I can't explain it. Either way, you don't care and I'm heading over to Ishgar…" Naruto then stood up. "You're rather sentimental, aren't you? You nurture that scar to remind yourself of the past… did you love your husband that much? Or did you feel that betrayed by him?"

"Don't poke into my personal business."

Naruto smiled. "At one point, I was your personal business," he said. "Ah, nothing is everlasting in this world. Well, Irene, it has been a pleasure…" he paused. "Are you not going to give me a goodbye kiss?" he smiled weakly. "Or maybe not."

* * *

So, I've been thinking of doing another Naruto/Fairy Tail xover for a while now. This is just something I wrote and thought, why not post it? I'm still working on other ideas but this is the first that I was able to work out into a complete chapter and think of what could happen afterwards. Tell me what you think.

The Omnipresent Sage


	2. Chapter 2

Just a small bag with a couple of training T-shirts marked with the Uzumaki crest – this was all that Naruto could collect from Irene's place. A place that he had shared with her since coming to the Alvarez Empire. He owned nothing worth any value that he did not have on his person wherever he went – he didn't even own anything aside from the sword Irene helped to create. The only place he could call a home was a temple made simply to sustain both him and Kurama – a place designed for survival. It was a pathetic living – at least comparing with his previous life, the latter stages of if. Then again, he had chosen to have things this way. He was an accomplished Kage, a shinobi even famous in his death – at least he liked to believe this. In this world, he could be free of the burdens of dreams and desires. He could just live as he saw fit. He could be whimsical, and no one would care.

This wasn't even his home to begin with.

Fate had yanked him from the jaws of death and dumped him in this world for him to enjoy life. If he allowed himself to be rooted to one place, he would never fully experience life in fullness. There was always something to see. New people to meet. The world was constantly changing. New things were invented every day. Evolution did not stop. The only thing that stopped with men was death. It was the dark end to all things. It was an end that no mortal could ever seem to escape.

Naruto put his bag on his shoulder and walked out of the room – there were no lingering attachments. He hadn't spent many nights here anyway. He'd always found somewhere to slumber, either under a tree within a mountain or another woman's bed.

He found Irene sitting on her throne. A former queen, sitting on a throne. Perhaps she could never leave out the misery and despair that broke her after her transformation started. Her story was a little sad. But Naruto didn't pity her. Of course, he would have liked to have met her when she was still kind. Life experiences ruin people. Perhaps he found more happiness in being around her because at one point in their lives, they had been prisoners in their own homes, resented for something they were not and misunderstood. He could look at her and say, they were alike.

"Are you finding it that difficult to leave that even after saying your goodbye?" Irene asked him.

Naruto smiled. "Maybe a little," he made a sign with his fingers. "But I must admit, casting away everything is a little difficult. Although you have recently been cold to me, we have had such a long journey and that was before you even met Zeref," the blond said.

Irene could not deny that they have been together for many years. But while Naruto had relieved a little of the loneliness that had kept her company for years while she was secluded in an unholy place, despairing over her loss of her humanity, he had still abandoned her. He had abandoned her when his transformation started to take effect. She hadn't told him of the dangers of the magic she taught him. Maybe a little part of him resented her for not telling him. But he could not cry foul over losing his humanity – he was never human to begin with.

"It has indeed been a long journey… but even when you say that, you have made the decision to part ways knowing full well that we will become enemies," Irene said, staring at him.

"Well, I'd always known this day would come, at least after you brought me here," Naruto shrugged with nonchalance. "Do you hate me for leaving you alone in that situation?"

Irene shot Naruto an intense stare. "I could ask you the same question."

Naruto shrugged. "I was never human to begin with… at least not completely. You could say I was somewhere in between. I don't even suffer as much effects of Dragon Slaying Magic as I claim to suffer."

"It is something you have always hidden… but I know you don't suffer the same consequences. Your stomach is able to hold any magic without suffering the side effects one would normally suffer," Irene said. "I always assumed that it has something to do with that fox… but I didn't question it because it didn't help me."

And even if she had asked, he wouldn't have told her. "When you are a shinobi, you don't broadcast your abilities for all to see. Keeping your skills hidden is a way to give yourself an advantage in battle. When your opponent knows how you fight and your abilities, they plan for a way to counter you…" Naruto said before falling silent. "I will miss you. Maybe I will come to visit you sometimes… if things don't become dangerous."

"It will be fine even if you don't come… I don't need you. Never did."

Naruto snorted. "When you were miserable hiding from humans, you didn't need me," he said sarcastically. "But that could be why you wanted to kill me the first time we met. Either way, nothing else matters anyway. My decision is made, and there is no going back, but before I leave, I must tell you something."

"What?"

"You know I tell a lot of lies about a couple of things, right?"

"A couple?" Irene laughed – that was an understatement. Naruto almost lied about most things about himself.

Naruto just smiled. "You're making me feel bad, especially when I have come to know so much about you…" he paused before shrugged as if something had suddenly hit him. "You also lie… and you have lied to me countless of times. But despite it all, I must say, we have been good to each other since we got over the rough start."

While she was not happy to admit it, Irene could not deny it. Her miserable life had come to see a bit of light when he came around. There had been someone who could talk to her, someone who didn't want to hurt her. He hadn't cared if she was a dragon or human – he'd simply hung around. Although he had never said anything, Irene had come to know through the look on his eyes that they could understand each other. But at the same time, she had desired to be human. But she could not become. There was nothing she could do to reverse the process. A mad part of her had taught him Dragon Slaying Magic without telling him the sife effects because she wanted someone to be like her – she didn't want to be alone in the misery.

"What is it that you want to tell me?"

"The reason I don't ever use my Dragon Slaying Magic isn't because of some self-loathing… I indeed had some regrets after losing control, with your help of course, and then going on to level an entire village," Naruto said in a bitter tone. "But I have lost all that sentimentality. I indeed did feel the guilt, but the main reason for not using my magic has been because there has never been a reason to use the magic. When I am on this side, there are no other strong opponents who would force me to fight with everything I have."

Irene stared at him for a moment. "You make it sound as if you only joined this side to protect yourself while growing stronger," she said.

Naruto smiled. "I'm not that cunning to think of something like that," he said casually.

"You insult my intelligence…"

"It is not my intention, Your Majesty," Naruto said with a salute.

"My days of being queen of the dragons have already passed. Stop calling me that," Irene said in a sharp tone.

Naruto pretended as if he didn't hear anything. "When my transformation started, as dragon, I fled from you. And was gone for quite some time. By the time I returned, Zeref had already come upon you and well, I'd already met him along the way. He must have told you, no?"

Irene shook her head. "There wasn't much of talking between him and me at first. He saw me and gave me this form. Of course, he did warn me that I only looked human, but I didn't want to believe it. I learned the hard way, and fell into despair. It was around that time that you returned…"

Naruto nodded. He then smiled a bit sadly. "It was honestly horrible not being able to turn back into normal. But I did not flee because I was afraid of losing my humanity. I stopped being human long time ago… but you already knew that, didn't you?"

Irene nodded. "Although there is some dilution, you have the same energy as that fox. It is most likely that you are connected to it. You do have the same smell after all. I didn't press on it because I have been around you long enough to know that if I forced you to tell, you would end up just lying to me. Besides, it was of no benefit to me."

Naruto held out his right hand, crimson flames started licking his arm. After a couple of seconds, the flames flamed out. Naruto's hand had changed… it was raw energy with claws... Irene stared at it with a wide smile – it was by no means a happy smile but a sick twisted grin. She then burst out into laugher.

"A Dragon, a fox, and Etherion…" she said in the cold laugher that echoed through the hall. "Fate is truly cruel. You're far from human."

Naruto shook his head. "Not at all… I'm closer… there are some qualities of human that I still maintain. But I don't want to get on with that, I just wanted to let you know of this little secret that I didn't want you to see back then," he said. "But I do hope that a day doesn't come where we have to fight, Irene… or the day you have to fight your daughter, because then, you will realize certain things. Those feelings that made you abandon her instead of killing her will come back. The feelings that made us work, will eventually surface no matter how hard you want to deny it. But knowing how things work, a day will probably come where that might just happen and you will have a choice on who lives or dies…"

Irene stared at Naruto. She didn't want to think about the daughter she abandoned. She didn't want to think about his lectures. He sometimes spoke as if he was the older one.

"Just leave, Naruto."

Naruto shook his head; was she really just going to tell him to leave just because she didn't want to talk personal issues with him? "It isn't a good thing holding onto things, Irene."

"Says the man who keeps secrets."

"They don't bother me, but your situation bothers you. Of course, now, it might not be anything because you are ignoring it, but the day that you encounter it, you will have to deal with it," Naruto said in a firm tone. "I wish you would freely talk to me about such matters… as it was in the past."

Irene smiled – a truly bitter smile. "Talk to you? You are leaving, and force me to turn on you. While you hope that the day doesn't come, it will eventually come where we will be enemies, won't it?"

Naruto did not deny this. Fate was a cruel thing at times. It has never been kind to Irene. It had blessed her with peace and authority and then stripped it all away. She has suffered for centuries, paid the price for the power she gained. Perhaps humans were never meant to gain powers to slay dragons. Magic could truly be a curse at times. Chakra never had such laws. You could bend it any way you could and there would be no curses.

He smiled sadly. "We will eventually talk, Irene. Maybe in a couple of years… if nothing is happening, I shall retreat to my temple."

* * *

While strolling aimlessly in a forest, Naruto came to a sudden halt. He leaned against a tree's trunk for a silent moment before sliding down, hitting the ground on his behind. He rested silently, with his left knee raised.

He felt so empty. A little bad that be bad to leave Irene. No, he felt a bit miserable. But this was how things had to go. He had no moral compass that protested his presence within the Empire, but he still had a way of doing things and he would not forget the honor of his naïve little days in the shinobi world. He would not throw away the value of life he once held while leading the Hidden Leaf all for the sake of following a miserable woman.

He knew, while Irene did not show it – she was not happy that he was leaving her, again. It had not been in many words, but he grasped the fact that his actions were causing her trouble. He'd tried to sooth that ache by telling her some things he hadn't not told her. But he wondered if that had been the right call.

"Was it okay to tell her that?"

"You didn't think about it when you decided to tell her?" Kurama asked, with a blank look.

"It was a thing of the moment. I got a little overcome and decided to tell her," Naruto said with indifference. "Well, it isn't like it makes any difference anyway."

Kurama shook his head. "You'll get us killed one day," he said in flat tone. "Where exactly are we going? Are we going back to the temple? We have discussed leaving for Ishgar but we have not selected where precisely," Kurama asked Naruto.

"I haven't given it that much of a thought," Naruto said. "The most important thing is that we are leaving here and will be in Ishgar."

"You are beyond help."

"Pity you then since you are stuck with me."

"If I had any choice, I'd depart. In this world, it isn't like someone would try to hunt me down for my power. Unlike our world, this place is less violent and bloody," Kurama said. "But you need to stop being an idiot and think if where we will go…"

"It does hurt when you call me an idiot, you know?" Naruto said quietly. "But we will think about when we start moving."

Kurama shook his head. "This carelessness will get you killed and I know you have some ambitions despite telling people you've accomplished everything."

"You're calling me a liar," Naruto said. He then smiled. "Well, everybody lies. No matter how small, a lie is a lie. I think I've gotten grips with the art… I'm not really proud of being a dishonest person. You can still be a shinobi even though you are honest. I made it even when I was naïve and mentally handicapped with idiocy."

"You made it because of me," Kurama was quick to remind Naruto. "Your biggest battles have been won because of me. On your own, you were nothing. The only thing notable you did for yourself was learning Senjutsu and mastering your Rasenshuriken… but your battle against Nagato, the other Bijuus, Madara, and Sasuke… your overall victory in the Fourth War, it was my power."

"If you want me to make you a statue and give you a cup, I will do it." Kurama was just bragging but He was right. He'd never been able to do much by himself. He could blame it on Kakashi and Jiraiya for their failure to teach him anything proper. "Well, no matter. That was the past and now I have built myself and managed to learn everything that I could learn."

"My power still plays a role."

Naruto shrugged. "You're just trying to keep yourself relevant now…" he said before placing his index finger on his forehead. He closed his eyes as the hand glowed green. "Let me think about things."

"We are in the middle of a forest, still within the Alvarez!"

"So?"

Kurama opened his mouth to protest and voice his annoyance but then shut it. He didn't respond. It was not worth it.

* * *

August shook his head staring at Naruto's form: the blond had his eyes closed, sitting with legs folded. He didn't look like he was conscious. He could only describe this as careless disregard for ones health and safety. And to think Invel had once campaigned for this person to join the Spriggan 12. He'd refused of course. August hadn't understood why then, but now he understood. This was the kind of person who could sleep in the job. Such a flamboyant attitude was not needed for someone who was supposed to protect the Emperor. And Naruto's sometimes willy-nilly attitude had reinforced the idea that it had been for the best that he refused to join them.

This was not a comrade. They'd shared some common goals. But differences had always been there. He'd never been ignorant of them.

The Wizard King held out his stuff and tried to poke Naruto on his forehead. The stuff never reached him – it was blocked by a barrier that suddenly came to life.

"As expected," August muttered silently. While it was expected, it still didn't provide the ultimate protection. Anything could still happen.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened. He blinked a couple of times wondering just how much time had passed. After a moment, he shrugged – he didn't really care. He was not against time in anything. Besides, it looked as if only a couple of hours had passed.

"August," Naruto greeted with a small smile on his lips. "I didn't expect to see you."

"Ajeel told me of your location."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "Given his animosity towards me, I thought he would have been quick to rush here to try to get rid of me…"

It was safe to say that Ajeel was the one person who'd never blink before stabbing him on his back if he ever looked away. Well, maybe Naruto could not blame him. But Ajeel had pushed him. And so he had trounced him until August swept into the scene to stop him.

"I stopped him… he still arrogantly thinks you beat him because you caught him off-guard," August said, staring down at Naruto – who'd yet to move. "What are you still doing here?"

"Hmm, I decided to rest a little bit. I'm a bit drained emotionally. It does appear that even if your physical shape changes, your mind remains that of a human," Naruto explained lightly. "I considered that if I stayed here, someone could still find me and then I could see what happens. If someone hunts me down while still here, then I know I must be vigilant when I go to Ishgar."

"So you don't want us going to Ishgar to fight as you think it might raise tensions between the Empire and Ishgar," August stared as he continued. "If not because of orders of His Majesty, we would not be standing here like this. You would have been dead," August said.

Naruto smiled. "That is a bit cold," he said. Well, coming from a man who is infamous for calamity, it was not. But Naruto knew August full well to understand just how he thinks and operates.

"You have betrayed us and in the event that the Alvarez Empire confronts Ishgar, you will pick a side. I assume that is also the reason you have decided to leave," August said.

"Which is all the more reason I should be killed," Naruto finished for August. Then most certainly, Invel was going to send someone to try to get him killed.

Both August and Invel were fiercely loyal to the Emperor. The former had been apparently given an instruction by the Emperor not to attack him. And no matter his thoughts, August would follow the instructions of the Emperor without question. But in the absence of a word, as long as Invel viewed him as a threat, he was going to send people to try to kill him. He was most probably not going to come to face him in person.

"But His Majesty has cautioned against it. However, if you turn against us, I will annihilate you myself if Irene cannot get it done," August warned Naruto with an intense stare.

"Hopefully, it does not come to that," Naruto said.

"That is a naïve way of thinking. It will come to that and his Majesty is aware of it," August's tone was firm. "I hope you will stay away from Brandish. She is still young and can be urged to consider things in a different view. It would be a betrayal on her part if she ends up leaving the Empire because of you. I know you care for her, but any attempt to dilute her will be met with force," August said.

Naruto raised both his hands. "I have no intentions of invoking your anger. I came alone and I shall depart alone," the blond said. "However, I do hope that she still maintains her moral conscious. Some of your friends have loose screws in their heads… she must not become like them."

Now, Naruto was confident of his abilities, but he really had no desire to fight August. The man was truly bad news when it came to magic power and not to mention his bothersome ability to copy magic. For so long, Naruto resisted using magic in front of the man because he didn't want it to be copied. His magic would not be used against him. The only way he was going to fight August, would be if there was no other option to fight and it would have to be a fight to death.

That is one area that August clearly agreed with Naruto. People like Irene and Dimaria enjoyed tormenting their victims in a distasteful way. Naruto had never enjoyed it – he'd always stopped such madness. Still, August didn't give a response, he turned his back on the blond and left, but not before offering his parting gifts.

"If you ever decide to return, you will be welcome… but on certain conditions. I value your power… and I also understand that I probably have not seen its true capabilities… but His Majesty knows."

After August left, Naruto slowly stood up and then stretched his muscles. He then turned his back on the Alvarez Empire before walking away with his hands inside his pockets.

"You've decided where we are going?"

"We will see after roaming around," Naruto answered. "I ended up having a rather good dream about some of my greatest days as a shinobi."

"We're past that and it bears no relevance to today," Kurama said in a flat tone.

Of course, Kurama would dismiss that thought like that. Naruto wasn't held back by his past in any way. "But we can't go that far from the borders of this country. In his loyalty towards the Emperor, Invel is going to send people after us. It will be best we stay close and encounter them there. That way, if there is a lot, it will not look like Ishgar is fighting with the Empire."

"You really think they will try again."

Naruto nodded. "Most likely. They have yet to gain the treasure in Fairy Tail and Zeref has said he needs it. Either way, such a war would only bring chaos and destruction. They must be stopped."

"You're going to do it alone?"

Naruto smiled. "Are you kidding me? I'd die if I did something like that…" he said. "Children they are, but they are still strong mages. Well, being around them as made me learn their strength and weaknesses but it still does not make it simple."

"If you kill whoever will be sent to you, it might be used against you."

"We will still do it nevertheless," Naruto said in a firm tone. He would not run away from the challenge. "But if they are human, we won't kill them, I will break them. Shatter all their bones until there is a bit of life in them. If it is a demon or machias, crush them, leave nothing remaining of their existence."

Kurama grinned at the thought of crushing opponents. He was not opposed to the idea. He simply enjoyed it when Naruto crushed his opponents. "You are quite the sadist."

Naruto stopped walking. "You dare call me that?"

"Wouldn't Irene have such thoughts?"

Naruto smiled. "Well, you are right but they deserve pain, don't they?"

"I don't care – I just want to see you crush some insects. It has been long since you stretched your muscles." Kurama said with a foxy grin.

"Indeed," Naruto's grin mirrored Kurama's.

* * *

Laughs, bickering and some people sitting in corners flirting; it was all that Naruto saw as he sat on the bar counter within a hall of a building he occupied. Kurama had his head resting on his paws, while he sat with a barrel of alcohol and some fruits. The alcohol never did anything to him aside from making him go to the toilet to take leaks. Fruits were the only food he enjoyed – he could feel their tastes. But anything else cooked for human standards, Naruto could not stomach that well.

How long has it been since he came here? Since he ransacked this building and got rid of those who occupied it to take it for himself? Time was meaningless. But a lot of time had passed since he came here. No one came to visit. He would have even prepared a dish for a meal if even some sick psychos come here. And that was simply because he was growing a little tired of waiting for Invel to make a move.

"Ah, we never had such free time outside of the temple," Naruto said to Kurama.

The Bijuu didn't open its eyes as it responded. "I'm content with this."

"That is because you have always been alone most of your life. Even when sealed, you spent time sleeping and trying to escape your imprisonment…" Naruto snorted. "Well, I can't say I am bored. We are still waiting for movement from those people."

"And you have always had people around you," Kurama said sarcastically.

"Ouch! You know to hit where it hurts my friend," Naruto said rubbing his chest.

Kurama opened on eye and then closed it again. "You have a guest."

Naruto looked up to the entrance as the double doors opened: Zeref walked in in all his glory. He smiled seeing the black Wizard.

Zeref looked around for a moment before shaking his head. Was it out of loneliness or just boredom? No, the blond was not the one to suffer from loneliness. He did have a partner after all and there was always something to talk about.

"Your illusions are improving," Zeref said before stopping not far away from Naruto. He sat atop of a table, facing the blond.

Naruto shook his head. "Not quite," he said before snapping his fingers. Everything disappeared. The hall was just empty, there were no people – just him and Zeref.

Naruto stared at the man who was with no doubt the greatest wizard to have ever lived. Looking at it, there was no one who understood magic better than Zeref. He created demons, there were books he had written. But that thirst to learn magic, to peer into the secrets of life, it had been founded on the purpose of restoring the life of his younger brother. Love was truly something else. It could drive men into the depths of hell. Zeref did all he could because he loved. But simply because the heart loved did not justify the actions.

His morals may have become corrupted and he would not blame the transformations he has been forced to go through. It was simply evolution. Only a god could remain the same even after centuries of living. But he had a human heart – or at least he constantly told himself it was human to escape the despair of losing something vital to happiness. Even though he has lost some moral values, Naruto still knew what was right and wrong – at times, he just didn't care enough to follow it.

What would even happen if Zeref knew that August was his son? Naruto thought it laughable that Zeref could not tell. It was ridiculous that the mage could not see something in front of him. No, it was his mindset and the nature of his magic that gave him that thought. He believed he was cursed, unable to form a family. Perhaps he would love his son if he knew. Naruto was not going say anything – it was not any of his business to say.

"This is all just illusions to fill my mind with voices. I cannot employ something like this in battle," Naruto answered.

"I wonder how powerful illusions have to be for you to consider them as such," Zeref said in thought.

"They must be strong enough to fool your senses. And 'realization' must not be what sets them out. Well, I have always been mediocre at best when it comes to complicated things, and casting illusions of such degree has proved to be difficult… I have so given up on them," Naruto said with a sigh. "It isn't like I need to employ them anyway."

Zeref smiled. Perhaps in the past it must have been true, but the current Naruto understood magic. But like him, this was forced because of his desire to change something.

"Did you leave just to sit here, playing guild with yourself. It seems rather sad," he said.

"I don't need to hear that from you," Naruto responded sharply. "I went to Tenrou Island to see you but you left without seeing me. I was hurt that you would just avoid me like that."

"It was not the right time to talk to you," Zeref said with a slight shrug. "But since you have now left, it is best to talk to you."

Naruto was silent for a couple of moments. He was a little surprised that Zeref already knew about this. Yet, it didn't make any difference. Zeref was not going to attack him now. He couldn't see that intent. He was simply here for something else.

"Then why have you come here?"

"I was merely passing by to let you know of a couple of things now that you have left. You understand war games, and have gained knowledge about my Shields." Zeref said. "You are still sitting here because you are waiting for someone to attack you. And the attack will come. But that isn't the reason I stopped by…"

Naruto frowned slightly. He really didn't want to hear what Zeref had come to see with him. "Why did you tell August not to fight me?"

Zeref smiled. "Such a fight would have surely caused the others to get involved and it would have put my Alvarez in danger. I don't want to lose men now. August would not have fought you without using his best abilities that would only bring destruction. He is the one who thinks highly of you… Irene of course. But I don't think she is in a position to fight you earnestly given your shared history."

"And yet you are going to stand and watch someone attack me."

"Anyone else I can afford to lose, but August I cannot lose. Compared to the others, he is on a different level," Zeref said. "You should know that. Besides, I want to see you fight, while meaning it. It is not a declaration of war, for now, we can just enjoy ourselves but a time for war will come… and I will see you fight earnestly. Perhaps before I engage Acnologia, you can entertain me."

Naruto stared at those dark eyes of Zeref. It was indeed a little frightening. There were no good intentions from the eyes of Zeref. He was right to leave. And Zeref was simply telling him that they would battle in the future. He was not doing anything now because he probably wanted to keep things a bit fun in the near future when he does decide to declare war.

Naruto grinned. "I plan to enjoy myself," he said.

"In war, knowing your opponents is a fundamental principle. This is the same Principle you applied. I have applied the same principle as well. I know your forms, your magic."

Naruto was silent. Perhaps getting help from Zeref had not been the best option. There had been no other way nevertheless. Not even Irene could solve her own problem. But Zeref probably knew more than he let on. After all, there were some things that he told him that he didn't even tell the shields.

"Your shields, they are just tools, aren't they?"

Zeref did not respond to this; he just smiled. "How many years has it been? Decades?"

Naruto shrugged. "Yes, maybe. I don't think time really matters for someone like you. You are immortal, age does not kill you… Whether you close your eyes for hundred years or minute, it makes no difference. I guess there only lingering attachments you hold is with Mavis, and if she is alive, she will remain so…" he closed his eyes. "What is the point of the question?"

Zeref raised an index finger. "I helped you out when you needed help, and I welcomed you to my empire when I knew you would eventually leave… because you have no attachment in this world. But in all my years, I have only known you as simply Naruto. Quite honestly, I wonder if that is even your real name. Of course, I cannot ask Irene. Her relationship with me is very different from the relationship you share with her."

"That is because she is simply a subordinate to you. Our relationship is much more personal… of course, it has not been like that for the past years."

"You came to her life and became a companion, and then suddenly departed from her without saying another word."

"You know exactly why I left… she would have died had I not left her presence… and you should be thanking me for because had you not met me, you would not have gone to her and you would not have gained a powerful shield…"

"She joined me because I helped her," Zeref said with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Naruto Uzumaki… if you had asked, her, she would have told you… My past is my past, aside from what I have already shared with you." Naruto said before bringing his legs on the counter. He lay on the side, his elbow touched the counter, resting his head on the palm of his hand. "I met Anna… disappointedly, she doesn't like me very much, and thus I could not get out much from her. But I know she is from the past, along with the Dragon Slayers… including you brother. Well, that was as much as I could get from her."

"Anna is a kind person, and you don't exactly give off a kind scent. Your very being reeks of malevolence, but you have managed to tone it down a bit," Zeref said with a smile. "When I asked about how many years, I wasn't simply about your name, but I wanted to ask, are you immortal like me? Dragons don't live eternally, but they live a long life, by human standards. But you were not completely human before your transformation… partial transformation, at least."

Naruto was silent for a long moment, his expression became blank. "Who knows? But I can be killed," although due to being one with Kurama, he was most likely to revive again. It was not something that he could share with anyone. "That is why I have never considered fighting Acnologia."

"This is interesting," Zeref said.

"While you ignore my enquiries over what you keep from your subjects with regards to your past… you aren't looking at the future but the past. Do you really want to face Acnologia? I don't know… you are immortal, yet cannot even try…"

"Acnologia is too powerful…"

Naruto shrugged. "I know, but he cannot kill you…"

"That is what frightens me," Zeref said "But you are still powerful. Unlike me, you have no fear for Acnologia, not even a little. You're a Dragon Slayer, and yet stand before him without any shred of fear."

"My intention has always been to talk to him… but he doesn't appear to think that highly of me. Then again, it is better that way. If he thought highly of me, he'd never leave me to my devices, but would hunt me down even if I escaped from him," Naruto answered with indifference.

"I wish we could continue, but I must leave. And in case you were wondering, the Fairy Tail Mages did survive… they are just still trapped somewhere but they will eventually return."

"Well, you did not come here crying saying no one can now kill you; so, I assumed your brother must still be alive…"

Zeref just smiled. "We will meet again, soon or maybe not… if we don't meet again to talk, we will meet at war…"

Naruto closed his eyes and when he opened them, Zeref was gone.

Kurama opened a single eye and then spoke. "Regardless of how you look at it, that was troubling…"

Naruto nodded. But it was Zeref and Naruto didn't want a war now. He didn't want to be the one to have started war. History remembered in his happy days as the one who stopped a war, a hero of war. He would not be the one who ignited the flames of war. But still, Zeref was rather cold. He led his empire into darkness and they could not see it. Naruto still would not say it. It was not his business. And if it was war, he would fight it without questions.

But the fact that Zeref knew things that he liked to keep secret meant that the future was not going to be as easy as he liked. Well, no matter, he still had his aces. He hoped the trouble would not come before they have found a way to separate Kurama from his being – and then he could restore the Bijuu. But as things stood, there was no other way he could think about – not unless there was some wish granting genie.

"Indeed," Naruto said. "But one had to expect as much from Zeref. His knowledge of magic is unrivaled."

"What now?"

What now? Naruto couldn't think of anything aside from facing the challenges Invel was going to send to him. It was good since it would not invoke war. He was a little bored anyway. He could use the exercise. Crushing a clone was not fun but an opponent who wanted to kill him was a little exciting.

"We wait for the enemy to come," Naruto said. "Once that is done, we can move out. Maybe we will first go look for a place that has the best ramen and then go back to the temple."

"What is the use? You can't even tell how it tastes like."

"Who is to blame for that? Because of you, I always feel lazy, and can sleep for whole month. And that is just your laziness and your lack of need for food."

"Your nourishment comes from Natural energy, what are you complaining about?" Kurama asked. "You were dying, and so was I. The only choice for survival was for me to pump my chakra into your system. I didn't think that it would reshape things. And I also didn't account for part of my body to be taken away to strengthen you so that could survive the physical stress of being dragged to this world."

"Hmp, and yet you still managed to keep a body…"

"A pathetic body that needs to be sustained by magic or else it disappears. And I cannot even go far from you… not mention, I cannot gather energy on my own. I am like a stillborn child… I can only eat when inside of you." Kurama said in a hardened tone. The one possibility that neither wanted to think about was if there was no other way to reverse the process.

"Well, being gloomy about it doesn't solve much," Naruto said with a yawn. "We can't just sit here and wait. We may as well just slumber."

* * *

Boom!

Missiles hit the building Naruto was within without warning. The entire building went out in flames after the missiles hit. It all crumbled down as a large amount of debris picked up. The birds within the surrounding trees chirped, as they flew away to safety.

When everything died down, within the debris Naruto was sitting in a meditative position, eyes closed. He was unharmed despite the building being reduced to ruins. When he opened his eyes, he looked around and then sighed. So much destruction for nothing. Someone could have just knocked and he would have woke up. There definitely had been no need to destroy this building. He sighed, oh well, it was not his home or anything. He'd just high jacked it anyway.

'One day, you are not going to wake up from your sleep,' Kurama said to Naruto. 'And someone will just kill you on your sleep.'

Naruto thought about it before laughing. It would be humiliating. No different than a shinobi missing a target he was supposed to hit because he overslept. How do you even return home because of such an embarrassing failure? He did often end up sleeping for long periods in areas where someone could find him. He blamed Irene for this. Before he came upon her, he'd always rested on places far away from humans. Then again, he'd always been leaking the killing intent that just frightened all those who became its victims.

'All the more reasons we should get a spare body and keep this one locked away,' Naruto said.

'You can't enchant yourself to another person… we have already tried this and the body was unable to contain us,' Kurama said. Naruto couldn't even do enchantment of that level. Irene had helped in the last attempt.

Thinking about it, Naruto frowned deeply. It was just like with Orochimaru. And to think he'd end up going to a similar path. How the mighty has fallen from grace.

"We just need a strong body… preferably that of a demon," Naruto said in thought. "There are many demons around. Hunting them shouldn't be a difficult task. But I am not too interested in gaining a demonic body."

'You are contradicting yourself.'

'Not at all. What I am saying is that a demonic body is strong. Anything like it could contain us. But at the same time, being a demon is not what I want.'

'You are already a demon. By the standards of this world, I am a demon,' Kurama explained. 'Just as I influenced you when you were still in your mother's womb, when I saved your life, my chakra, changed your body…'

Naruto chose to ignore the first words. 'Have I even thanked you yet for saving my life?'

'No you ungrateful fool. But I don't need your thanks. I didn't do it for you. I did it to save my life,' Kurama said in a flat tone.

Naruto did not respond – he looked ahead and saw the robotic figure standing in front of him. He smiled. "I expected someone else, but I guess a machine can still be made if you have the scraps for recycling it."

"You know I cannot be recycled."

Naruto stared for a moment before shaking his head. This world surely had its strange things. There were such things as gods. Dimaria had one within her – but remarkably, such a thing called god could still be defeated. This was also an alternative universe. And a race of machias.

"Where is the real, Wall? If I am going to have to do this, I would rather not waste my energy destroying a mere puppet when the real one is not even close enough."

The puppet smiled. "You think you can defeat me? I have been sent to deliver judgement on someone who has betrayed the Emperor. Justice does not lose." He smiled. "I must admit, you are a little complicated as I cannot view your body… a barrier?"

If he had been smarter in his younger days, if he had grown within the Uzumaki clan, he would have developed such measures around his body using fuinjutsu to block the sight of Doujutsu that liked to peek on other people. Ah, well, he could blame his sad need for attention and affection for never learning much. Knowledge was important in making informed decisions. But to simply have knowledge didn't mean wisdom. That came with age and the ability to think logically. Even geniuses could make fundamentally flawed decisions – such people tended to be emotionally weak and sometimes blind to simple things because they were always looking tor complicated solutions.

"Shall we treat this as a training exercise?" Naruto wondered out loud. "The principle of a shinobi is that you must never show your opponent your weaknesses. If possible, deceive them. There was also a saying that there is no honor amongst shinobi – in the way we fight of course. But I never followed that. I was always honest and displayed great honor."

He was still honorable but it didn't meant he didn't deceive his opponents. Being too goody would cost him his life. There were many scenarios in which he could have died because of his naivety. He had to always thank Kurama. In the battle in the Snow, with Sasuke… it was always Kurama who bailed him out. Without the Bijuu, he was just a stupid brat with large chakra reverse. Sage mode did help him but it still didn't take away his obvious flaws. Age and experience were truly the best teacher.

He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Wall's puppet had about 25 machias behind it. They all looked ready for battle. He smiled. They were machines, not flesh and blood, he would not have trouble breaking them apart or even blowing them up to pieces.

"Last words; I really didn't dislike you. You were a fair person after all but I must pass down judgment," Wall said, holding out his right hand.

A bulky missile formed just above Wall, and then shot toward Naruto.

The blonde watched the missile without moving. His trained eyes calculated its movements as it headed straight at his chest. It was one of those missiles that exploded on contact with the target. When it was just inches away from him, time seemed to slow down as Naruto did a 90 degree spin. It all happened in a flash. The missile just went past him, a little behind him.

"Oh my…" Naruto exclaimed with a small grin. The missile was once more turning toward him. It was locked to his heat signature, he realized. So, it was not going to stop until it hit something.

"Hmm?"

A machine lunged at him from his right side with the missile coming in from the left. The clone's outstretched fist was sparkling with electricity. Naruto ducked under the punch while stretching out both his hands: the left up and he right toward the machine's chest. He twisted slightly to face it before grabbing the stretched hand around the elbow; the palm of his right hand touched its chest. He straightened up and in some fluid, flashy movements, he turned around to face the missile before hurling the machine into it.

Boom!

The machine collided with the missile and then exploded. The missile turned it into a small pieces of metal scraps.

"Nagato did have the ability to make such weapons through the Rinnegan… how I wish I could also do it," Naruto said in thought.

He turned his attention to the machines with his head tilted to the side. There were a handful of them. And he really just wanted to remove pieces of them. They were not human – there would be no blood. He did wonder if the machias race actually felt pain. Shaking his head, Naruto took out his stuff.

"I can play around the puppet and Wall himself, but the others are only good for target practice… not to mention, the more I fight these things, the more Wall studies my fighting style. I would not make something which could be easy to be very difficult…" Naruto said to himself.

"You oddly become very smart when fighting." Kurama noted.

"Haven't I always?"

"When you were not fighting for some stupid reason."

"I never fought for stupid reasons," Naruto rejected the assertion in a firm tone. "Well," he grinned. "No matter, let us go wild. I also want to test that curse I learned."

"Don't do anything stupid and expect me to bail you out."

"You couldn't even if you wanted to."

While annoyed by the way Naruto said those words, Kurama still responded but with a bit if edge in his tone. "That is my point exactly."

Naruto just shrugged and then dashed toward the machines. They didn't just stand and allow him to come to them – they also started charging toward him in their numbers.

The first to reach him jumped up into the air, jumping over him. As it did, another lunged below, driving a fist encased with electricity toward his chest. The machine above him, flipped, moving behind him.

"Incinerate."

Naruto mouthed the curse and the machine in front of him burst into crimson flames. Before the machine behind him could land on the ground, he did a quick jump and flipped, turning upside down just above the burning machine. He placed both his hands on the machine's shoulders. With great force, he pushed to the other. The force was so much that the machine it hit stumbled back as it caught the fire.

While still upside down, Naruto suddenly disappeared into thin air.

He flashed front of one of the machines, holding out his stuff. He swung it down, aimed at the machine's right shoulder. The stuff cut through the shoulder, breaking the arm. Naruto didn't stop there, he drove his left hand straight towards its chest, burst through it. When another machine appeared behind him, Naruto twisted around, anti-clockwise. His stuff smacked the machine straight on its head, bursting it.

He then jumped up, and watched the machines for a second before disappearing once more. He appeared right behind the machines, the tip of his stuff pointed at them. It was glowing light blue.

"Erase!" A massive blast of energy was released from the stuff. It spread out wide quickly, and engulfed the machines. Everything the blast touched became non-existent. Only the lower parts of the machines remained, before falling down harmlessly.

Naruto didn't get to admire the work of his curse he was forced to jump into the air when a huge explosion of electricity occurred.

"A vital point in battle would be to never lose sight of your opponent." Wall's puppet said as it flashed just above Naruto, trying to chop him from behind

"If you are going to do a sneak attack, at least be silent about it!" Naruto responded as he tilted his head to the right, his stuff facing the puppet's hand. He did this without turning to face the puppet. "Erase!"

Another blast flashed out in the blink of an eye. It hit the puppet's hand, erasing it within a second. The puppet immediately willed away from the blond. When it landed on the ground, it was forced to twist around as Naruto was already there, his stuff pointing at it.

"It was a little underwhelming," Naruto said. "I've even lost interest in this little exercise. Your Emperor has also said no war and if I destroy you, it gives those people some reason to try to make things a little bothersome for me. I really want to just relax while amusing myself before war. So, I won't come after you, Wall. However, as Principle, this thing must be erased."

"Not before I erase you first!"

Boom!

A powerful explosion denoted as the puppet exploded in self-destruction. The explosion caused everything to be blown into the air, causing a large crater on the ground. When everything died down, Naruto stood still, with a frown on his lips. His coat was burnt away, but he was fine.

"My coat," he cried sadly. "We must go to Invel and demand that he compensate for a replacement." He said firmly.

"Of all things you are worried about your coat?"

"What else should I worry about? If harm is going to come to me, it has to be from the real Wall…" Naruto answered in a flat tone. "This is my original body, it is going to take more to actually damage it. Not to mention Irene had enchanted it shield me… it absorbed most of the damage…"

"You are not being attacked," Kurama took Naruto through what was important. "He didn't stop because you said you would let me him leave. If the real Wall was here, then he had simply been using the puppet to see your reaction and maybe if you would cause problems for them. You thought Zeref was willing to sacrifice one of his but that is wrong – at least not now."

"Are you saying my deduction was wrong?"

"No…" Kurama responded sarcastically. "Are we finally going to leave now?"

Naruto adopted a thoughtful look for a moment before nodding his head. "I must send a clone to see Irene about something that arose when I was with Zeref?"

"You want to sow seeds of mistrust between her and the Emperor?" Kurama asked. It was the only thing that could have possibly come up. Naruto had always suspected but he'd never been able to confirm it – that Zeref kept many details to himself about his intentions.

"I'm not that manipulative… besides, I doubt I can manipulate Irene."

Kurama snorted. "She is a miserable woman with too much pain. You relieved some of that but it hasn't made her a good person."

"To my disappointment she came to know Zeref because of me," Naruto said. "Had things been different, we could have had a different future. But I just want to see how much she knows and if I can open her eyes."

"You don't need to go to her. You can just call her…"

"I doubt she'd come."

"You underestimate your influence to her. You are the only person who knows her and has experienced what she has experienced. You were with her in her moment of loneliness. Even if you left her, she has not forgotten," Kurama said with a slight shake of his head.

Naruto thought about it for a moment before nodding. He put away his stuff and then held out his right hand. A bird appeared in a puff of smoke.

"Call Irene to come to see me at my home."

The transformed clone nodded and then flew off.

Irene would have to see the place he used as his base of operations – his comfort place. At least he could trust her to keep the location a secret from the others. It was warded with barriers to keep people away. But you never knew what could sneak in.

"Are you sure you want to give her the location?"

Naruto nodded. "It is a sign of trust and what I should talk to her regarding should make it obvious that all I want is for her to be happy."

"I hope your attitude does not get us killed one day."

* * *

Irene stared at what she could only call a temple. The structure was huge, trying to reach the clouds. Six story of floors appeared not to have an entrance. There were no windows, no doors, just bricks piling up after each other, with each floor smaller than the floor below. There was a stair case that led up. There was also a dark cloud that hovered about. You definitely could not miss the building from afar, yet not anyone had seen it. And it was still within Ishgar.

She frowned at the thought of climbing all the stairs. She could turn into a dragon and just fly. Shaking her head, Irene walked to the stairs. After both her feet touched them, the stairs glowed with strange marks before they starting moving up. There was a bit of dust as they moved – it looked as if they hadn't moved in years. It took a couple of minutes before she reached the top.

The area was wide and open. The pillars holding up the roof were painted in gold. On the other side from the where she came, there was a throne, located on a small stage. Irene turned around to look at the surrounding of the place. Despite being high up, she could only feel a slight breeze. There was something blocking the wind. She walked toward the edge: there was nothing but dead land surrounding the palace. There was no mountain, nothing, just boulders sticking up lifelessly from the ground. Even the air was thick. There was definitely something wrong about this place that seemed to distort the atmosphere.

'How has no one found this place?'

It looked to be a century old given its structure. It laid in the middle of a desert and still no one has seen it? She had been brought here, by a clone. She couldn't even give the exact location of this place.

Irene turned away from the edge and walked toward the throne. The moment she touched the stairs leading to the throne, something moved which caused her to halt, but the person sitting on the throne didn't move – not a bit. Three walls from the left, right and behind the throne shifted from the floor until touching the roof. There was a bit of darkness that lit up it was however lit brightly by six orbs of energy that floated above the throne. They were the same Lacrima that she had seen in his device.

"You're awfully comfortable," Irene said, glancing at Naruto's feet. The fox laid there, eyes closed. Wasn't it always sleeping in her presence?

Naruto smiled. "This is my home, should I not be comfortable? But I must admit, I hadn't been here since I met you."

Irene's right brow stretched up a bit. "Why?"

"Look around you? There is no life. This place sucked it all dry. There is no human close by. Nothing that lives. During day, the sun becomes so hot, any human would simply pass out of dehydration. I'd abandoned this place when I met you. Someone I could speak with on equal terms, someone who understood pain and loneliness… why would I want to come back to this place?"

"You came back here," Irene said.

"Circumstances force me to return," Naruto said with a slight wave of his right hand. "I just want to sleep for maybe two years or more. Nothing is happening now anyway."

Irene was silent for a couple of seconds, her eyes lingered on the blond without blinking. "What are you really doing here, Naruto? There is a lot of magic in those things, and I guess you are the one who ruined this place." She said, looking up at the glowing orbs above him.

"I'm sadly trying to solve a problem that I have been trying to solve for about a century now. In fact, my learning of Dragon Slaying Magic took me back to square one. The effort I'd put in for a period that was long enough to be the entire life span of a normal human… it was all ruined."

Irene did not miss the fact that Naruto appeared angry. When had she seen him angry? Almost never. He had always seen calm, never serious. While still thinking about this, that anger in his eyes seemed to disappear as he sighed.

"Is that why you left?"

Naruto just smiled. "Stories of the past," he said. "But let me correct you about one thing or two; I did not destroy what I destroyed because I lost control… well, technically I did lose control, but I was angry…angry at my loss. I want to be human again, Irene. I miss the feeling of hunger, and the desire to eat meet and still feel what it tastes like. I want to care about some things… I want to be normal. When I sleep, I usually put a timer because I might just sleep and wake up a year later…"

Irene smiled – a bitter smile.

"You should hate me."

"Not at all. While here, I was roaming the world in a clone, I did not have friends, avoided people. I was truly alone. You gave me companionship and made me realize what it means to be alive. To know that you are alive and you must enjoy this life, for me, that was much more valuable than any research. I could have worked out a method, by then, but, I would have become so lifeless that nothing no longer mattered. But you matter. The friends I have made matter. I'm interested in life because of you. Not all was lost anyway. I have many years to live to make corrections," Naruto smiled. "I'm a little relaxed because of you… I'm not in a hurry like I will die tomorrow … I thank you for everything, in fact."

"I'm glad to have been of service," Irene said. "Did you call me here to tell me that?"

Naruto shook his head. "I wanted you to see this place. And I also spoke to Zeref. It was speaking to him that actually led me to conclude that I should rest my body here in the meantime as nothing is happening. I have two questions, you need not answer them: did you know that Zeref only met you because I spoke to him before he came across you? What is your Emperor's greatest desire? Hint, it is not to defeat Acnologia," Naruto smiled. "Be aware of where you stand and whom you fight for… because at the end of the day, it is you who matters… one more question, what is it that you live for, Irene? My questions have no ulterior motives. And you can think about them at your time… I'll tell you this; I want you to die with a smile… because I have grown to love you."

* * *

**End of chapter**

**I'll start by thanking everyone who reviewed this story and all followers. The reaction was overwhelmingly positive – a lot more than what I had anticipated. **

**I had a bit of trouble with this chapter. I kept changing things over and over again because I wanted it to keep the same level as the last one. This was the best I could do. **

**Naruto is a lot older… that much is certain. And he is strong. The relationship with Zeref is a bit complicated. I think this chapter filled up some gaps with regards to Naruto and Kurama – their connection at least. I want to try to develop a relationship with Irene, but it is going to be a little difficult. I also want to play around with Dimaria a bit, but will see what happens.**

**Spoilers for the next chapter: Umm, there will be a bit of a scuffle with Naruto and Acnologia. And there will be a time skip. I'll also add a flashback of when Naruto first met Irene. **

**The Omnipresent Sage **


	3. Chapter 3

Irene's eyes snapped open when she sensed a presence before her. There was a malevolent being before her. It rubbed off her senses in the wrong way. She felt threatened. But standing in front of her was what appeared to a blond human, his expression looked innocent but those eyes were not. The evil feeling he gave off was dangerous. The smile on his lips did nothing to mask it. How had he even gotten before her? His power was tremendous. She should not have missed it. What was he even doing here? She thought she was safe here. Was he someone who wanted to try to kill her? She was on this form, cursed by the magic she had birthed, but she still wanted to become human. She wanted to bear the child she carried inside of her. Dragons were extinct now, he had not come here to try to make her a memory as well, had he?

Seeing the blond try to raise a hand, Irene hit first. Her right claw moved speedily before swatting him off the ground. She watched him, tumbling away from her in speed. Her eyes never went off him as he crashed into multiple trees, breaking them apart. She flapped her wings and took the skies.

When he finally stopped, she didn't check him. She released a huge roar of flames down towards him. The flames seemed to hit him, igniting a huge column of intense crimson flames that burnt through the forest.

Irene sighed. She would have to look for a new place to dwell.

"Is that how you greet people? Here I was finally excited that I was meeting a Dragon and the first thing this dragon does is to try to murder me without even saying a word."

Irene's eyes snapped toward the direction of the voice. The blond was standing away from the crater. He had avoided her flames. And her first strike didn't seem to have done damage to him.

"Who wouldn't attack you with such a menacing feeling?"

Naruto smiled. "Weak people," he said. "It cannot be helped. My dominant magic is pure hatred. But I've been working to clean it," he said. "You'll forgive me for sneaking up on you. My name is Naruto. I've been travelling around Earthland for a number of years now."

Irene did not give a name. She did not introduce herself. "What do you want?"

"Will you come down?"

Irene stared down. She was hesitant. She didn't know if she should. The smile he had was an attempt to sooth things, but her senses still sensed danger.

"I mean no harm. I just want to talk to you. You seem rather lonely here… but so have I."

"What do you know about that?"

Naruto smiled sadly. "You are a Dragon and yet attacked me just seeing me, what do you think humans do when they see me? Everyone is frightened of my presence. And so, I live alone."

It was a sad living. To be able to walk around into human towns, he had to transform into a clone. That way, nobody ran off. It was just like the old miserable days in the Hidden Leaf. It was laughable just how he was forced to live this kind of life once again.

After a moment of thinking, Irene descended to the ground. But she still kept a safe distance. Naruto did not close it. When she didn't say anything, Naruto settled down under a tree, leaning against its trunk.

"It is fine if you don't want to talk. For now at least. I haven't slept over the past month due to many things I've had to do," Naruto said with a yawn. "I hope you are not going to try to kill me again while I sleep. In fact, I'm hoping you'll watch over me as I sleep."

Just like that, he fell asleep. She'd thought he was joking but after six hours, even contemplated killing him while he was asleep, Irene decided to just ignore him. How careless was he to sleep before her after she just tried to kill him? Shaking her head, she rested, but with one eye open. After a couple of more hours, both eyes closed.

When she woke up, Naruto was lying on his back, eating grapes. She blinked but said nothing. She didn't even ask where he got them.

* * *

Irene knew that the only reason Zeref had summoned her was to talk about Naruto. This had nothing to do with his recent visits to the Empire. She has remarkably, never discussed with Zeref, despite the fact that they have been around for much longer. Zeref never asked, and she never spoke about it. When she arrived outside, at a balcony, overlooking the streets of the capital city, she found the Emperor standing alone, watching the streets. Irene carried her stuff firmly and walked towards the man.

The air was warm. Not that she enjoyed such things. Naruto was the one who could sit to enjoy a cool breeze. She did not. She didn't care about such small things. Irene stood by his right side, looking down the streets.

Without looking at her, Zeref starting speaking. "Not long ago, this place was not like this. There was but hundreds of guilds spread around this country. You, Naruto, and August assisted me in subduing all those guilds to form my Empire. And today it has become what it is."

"You did not call me to talk about history, have you, your Majesty?" Irene asked, a stern look on her eyes, tossed to the side for Zeref to see.

The Emperor merely smiled. Irene has always been a little serious. But when she had received this form, she had been a little giddy like a child. The despair of reality had hit her hard and turned her into this person. But Zeref could not blame her. He too had fallen into despair at one point in his life. No, his life was a tragedy. There were many things that went wrong. Everything went wrong.

"No," Zeref started with a slight shake of his head. "I called you because I wanted to talk to you about Naruto. His location to be precise. I have not seen him in the last couple of years."

"Nor have I," Irene responded.

That place Naruto had shown her was at a place she could not narrow down. But she knew it was probably within this continent. Or maybe even in Ishgar. Either way, Irene was not too bothered by it to actually spend time trying to figure out where it was. It was not like Naruto had disappeared forever. He was going to show up again when he felt like. He didn't work on anyone's schedule. Trying to tie him down was a simple waste of energy. If you wanted him to sit at a place, it better be a hole somewhere he could just sleep without care in the world.

"But I am surprised that you'd ask me," Irene said. "Your relationship with him seems to reach bounds that none of other Spriggan can reach." Not that she has seen it but Naruto did always give that idea that he knew a lot about Zeref.

And some of the things he has whispered to her made her ask questions. Still, she was loyal to the Empire. Naruto was not the kind of person you could trust. Not when he could just disappear at any moment. He seemed to relish the idea of playing hide and seek. He didn't care about anything else but was set on his wants.

"Who else would I ask?"

"Wouldn't you know? Though he is never forthcoming, I sometimes think he met you before we met."

Zeref shook his head and gave Irene a stare. Naruto had probably said something to her. He could entertain it but that was not the reason he'd called Irene. Besides, it was given that Naruto would eventually say something to Irene. But given's the blond's motives, there wasn't much he was actually going to say and Zeref was content with that.

"I am asking you because you are the one who knows him better. If he is going to admit to something, it has to be to you."

Did Irene have any intentions of betraying the Empire? No… she had no such intentions, at least not for Naruto's sake. He always knew what he was doing. Irene was not going to defend him. But from how things looked, it did seem like Zeref only wanted Naruto just so they could speak – not for war. There were no preparations for war on this side.

"He is at a temple somewhere… I don't know the location." Irene said. "Is that all?"

"General location?"

"Ishgar, it has to be somewhere away from humans. It is not in an island."

Zeref nodded. "What do you know about Naruto? His origins to be precise?"

"Nothing. I don't know anything… just that he was once a leader of a village… and that he has a troubled childhood. The details are always vague. He is consistent in keeping that part of his life hidden away." Irene said. Memories of the old seemed to be something of a touchy subject. At one point, he seemed to have this miserable look on his eyes when he spoke about his childhood. There was pain, but he didn't share it with anyone.

"Which village? In which country? In which year?" Zeref asked. "I have searched around, trying to look for his origins but found nothing. Nothing. Has he even aged in the past twenty years?"

Irene was silent. Naruto had not aged. Her human form was now mature. But the only thing that seemed to grow with Naruto was his hair. His face seemed eternal. She could put him in the same bracket as Zeref. The thought made her frown. Was Zeref suggesting that they were the same? Naruto had denied immortality to her when she asked him.

"He has not… but neither have you aged. Naruto is different from me. His body at least." Irene was not going to share anymore than that. "But if you are suspect to something, would it not be better to ask him rather than me? He could have even lied to me. I also find your questioning very curious."

Zeref waved his right hand. "I know Naruto isn't like other Dragon Slayers. I also don't think Naruto would lie to you over such things. He would rather not tell than lie," he tilted his head to the side. "That has been his method, am I not correct?"

"Who knows? I have never known what that man is thinking," Irene said turning away from Zeref.

* * *

"Ouch!" Naruto cried after Kurama scratched him across his face. "What was that for?" He demanded, glaring at the Bijuu.

Kurama glared back. He'd been trying to wake the blond up after sensing a presence coming towards them. Unlike with Naruto, he wasn't dead when asleep. "We have a situation," he said.

Naruto looked up for a moment before standing up. He could sense Acnologia's presence. He frowned slightly. The only reason the Dragon King would come here would be for battle. He has never shown any interest in talking to him before. He had been certain that this place was fairly hidden. Then again, Acnologia was the only who flew above the clouds – he could see such a place. Or maybe someone like Zeref had let it slip just to see how he would react to this.

Naruto sighed, and leaned back to his throne. "How troublesome," he said casually. "I can sense the killing intent even from here. It seems this time, Acnologia is hell bent on trying to destroy us."

"And you're just going to sit there?"

"Of course not, but panicking isn't going to solve anything –it will just make us resolve things hastily and that might give us a problem," Naruto said in a thoughtful tone.

What was he to do about this? He truly had no intention of fighting Acnologia – at least not now. The Dragon was not going around to destroy villages and causing chaos. There was no pressing reason to invoke a battle to death with the dragon, even just for amusement. It was best not to get the dragon of apocalypse excited about the thought of fighting him. He tapped his fingers on the armrest and decided.

"This temple has served its purpose, but if it gets destroyed, we can always rebuilt it," Naruto said as he stood up.

"You are not going to run as you always do?"

Naruto looked down at Kurama with a raised brow. "You sound like you disapprove of my methods and are holding down the excitement of fighting Acnologia."

Kurama displayed a toothy grin. "I don't deny that I want to fight the Dragon. In our world, I was the strongest, but in this world, the Dragon is the strongest. It offends me a little…"

Naruto laughed. "In that form?" He asked with a stare. "You have certainly lost your body, but your pride has not gone away. You must accept that you are no longer the big bad Nine-Tailed Demon Fox and have become just a tiny little fox."

"One day, I will regain my strength, and you will regret this mocking." Kurama swore.

Naruto smiled. "Well, that day is not now. And we are not worried about such. In any case, I can enjoy myself…" he said before standing up. His muscles were tense. He stretched up a bit and then took out his stuff. It became engulfed in blue flames before revealing a pure black long-sword with a crimson handle. Naruto pointed the tip of the blade on the lacrima orbs floating above him. He seemingly cut through the space, creating a pocket. One by one, the orbs were absorbed into the pocket. Naruto then closed it by doing the same motion.

His sword became a stuff once more.

"That is about any valuable thing we have outside. Everything else is sealed away underground," Naruto said before walking away from the throne.

Kurama jumped on his shoulder as he was walking. After a moment, he disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto walked towards the edge of the place. He looked up as Acnologia finally came into view. The malevolent dragon brushed aside the clouds blocking his path. Naruto stared up at the dragon and then smiled before waving his right hand. Perhaps it had been out of habit, but at this moment, Acnologia didn't seem interested in greeting him.

"Why don't you come down here and have a coffee of warm dragon blood with me?" Naruto called out to the dragon. He had no such, but it was just pointless talk. He was often doing that these days.

The Dragon's response came in the form of charging a powerful breath. Looking up at the danger, Naruto sighed. Acnologia's ferocious dragon's breath charged towards the temple with malevolence. Within seconds, it crashed into the temple, completely consuming the structure. A large column of debris picked up after the spell. When everything died down, there was no structure standing, just a flat concrete surface within the ground, marked with black symbols.

"I'd considered pretending to be dead for a moment," Naruto suddenly said, standing atop of Acnologia's head. "Hmm, the view is quite lovely from here."

Acnologia had already sensed the blond. He transformed into his human form and twisted in midair to face the blonde. He said nothing as he lunged forward, thrusting a right punch towards the blond's chest. Naruto quickly folded both his hands across his chest to block the incoming attack. Acnologia's fist collided with his defense, creating a shockwave as Naruto held firm. But he was sent rocketing towards the ground in a flash.

"Shit; that hurt!"

Naruto cried as he tried to regain control over his body movements. He crashed to the ground on one knee. Landing in a loud boom. He didn't mind anything as he shook both his throbbing hands. Acnologia was indeed the Dragon King. When was the last time someone hit him so hard? Naruto had never experienced it in this world. Then again, this was the big bad of the realm of magic. Shaking his head, Naruto tossed his glanced forward as Acnologia crashed down.

"You took that well," Acnologia said with a grin. "I was right, you are a worthy opponent. A weaker opponent would have died even after blocking it."

Naruto didn't get up; this was going to get dangerous if he didn't do anything. he still had no intention of fully engaging the dragon. "I'm hurt…" he said. "What's the big deal though? I thought you and I had established that we would not be fighting."

"I grew bored and your foul stench continues to grow foul to my nose with each year," Acnologia responded.

"Can't you think of anything other than trying to destroy me? I mean, if you want a good battle, I will give it to you," Naruto said.

Acnologia stared at him for a moment. "You refuse to show me, but you have just proved that you can entertain me before I rip you apart."

Naruto shook silently. "I'm scared," he said. He then blinked, as if he just realized something. "You're talking to me today!" He exclaimed.

How long has he wished for the Dragon to be interested in talking to him? But he knew, if Acnologia was showing interest on fighting him, it meant he had decided to acknowledge him or he has stumbled on something that would make him curious and the only person who could make the dragon do that, was Zeref. He frowned just thinking about it.

"I have decided to acknowledge you as an enemy that I must crush," Acnologia responded. It was amazing that even in his presence, the blond displayed no sign of anxiety or fear. When he met Dragon Slayers, if they didn't arrogantly think they could beat him, they tried to flee in fear – it had been the same with Dragons before he annihilated all of them. But Naruto did not display the fear nor the arrogance.

"I should be happy, but I have one question: did Zeref tell you of my location?" Naruto asked with his head tilted to the side, curious about something.

"I have no intention of continuing with this pointless chatter," Acnologia said before dashing toward the blond.

Naruto breathed in before breathing out the monstrous roar that should not come from the mouth of a human but that of a dragon. The roar was in blue flames, spreading out wide as it expanded. It forced Naruto to skid backwards behind its force. When Naruto stopped it, there was a large pathway created on the ground by the spell but there was no sign of Acnologia.

The dragon king flashed behind Naruto, his right claw cleaving through the air in a downward slash. The stuff on Naruto's back suddenly pulled out, flashing just in front of him. There was a clang sound when his claw collided with the stuff. When it started to glow, Acnologia breathed in before releasing a powerful roar that engulfed the blond from point blank range. The roar blasted everything, digging deep into ground, before leaving a huge crater.

Acnologia landed on the edge of the crater and looked down. There was no sign of Naruto, just a black sword floating in the air. The sword glowed blue before disappearing in a flash.

* * *

"Classic," Kurama said as Naruto swung his legs, sitting on a tree's branch, kilometers away from where his temple once laid.

Naruto just shrugged. "Acnologia is not our priority now. Besides, he serves as motivation for why we must restore you. I'm afraid if I don't think the power is necessary for something else, I won't put that much effort in trying to restore you," the blond said in a quiet tone.

"You are openly admitting that to me?"

"It isn't like you can do something about it." Naruto said as he held out his right hand. His sword flashed onto his palm and then morphed into the stuff. He put it away in the sheath on his back.

Kurama frowned but chose not to indulge Naruto's taunts. "When are you going to get serious about things? You are walking in the pace of a snail, and don't seem to realize that… how many years have you spent on your rest?"

"You seem to forget that the rest is important for my body's function," Naruto reminded Kurama. "What is more important is you regaining your strength, not my preference to sleep than wander around aimlessly. Can you still not absorb a lacrima filled with natural energy without your body threating to burst like a balloon?"

The jibe aside, Kurama was not pleased with how things were proceeding. "No," he said. "Even if I do consume, it doesn't seem to change my physical presence but just adds more energy… which I am struggling to control. The temple is the only place that can sustain me without you around."

"Was," Naruto corrected the Bijuu. "We will have to master creation of all things if we are going to do this. Creating an Etherion body for you must now become our priority since the old approach is not working. Maybe we will give you a human body with your real body being what you are."

"Don't insult me!" Kurama responded in a sharp tone. "I would rather look like a demon than a pitiful human."

Naruto just smiled, shaking his head. Even after all these years, Kurama still had his issues with humans. Then again, the others would certainly laugh at him if they saw him walking around like a human. "That solves your part, but not my problem." He said in a slightly serious tone.

"That is just an idea," Kurama stressed. "But it isn't the first time we thought about this. The reason we even met Zeref in the first place was because of his creations. You failed miserably to master Creation of all Things. And sought to understand the Magic that Zeref used… however we were forced to reconsider because of the dangers it posed."

Magic was truly something else. With chakra, there was no such thing as curses. You could bring the dead to life. You could retrieve souls from the other world, but in this world, it seemed rather impossible. Zeref had failed to bring back Natsu to life. What existed now was not his brother – but a demon.

"I will put on my thinking hat and study more. We have the basics," Naruto said before smiling. "In a couple of years, we could have a book, called the book of Kurama."

Kurama snorted at the thought. "In a couple of years for you can be a decade. You could spend time in a library reading and then decide that you need to sleep to absorb all the information…"

"There is nothing wrong with that."

"An idiot will always be an idiot," Kurama said. "What do I expect? You could never grasp the complex things in your shinobi days. It is rather unfortunate that I get to be stuck with you in this situation."

"Now you are insulting my intelligence!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Prove me wrong."

Naruto thought about it before shrugging. "You won't manipulate me that easily, Foxy-chan," Naruto said with a wide grin. "But all my years of living should be put to the test through this. But if I fail, I have failed. I still won't ask Zeref… I'm sure he can do it. But telling him would be giving him secrets to my body… Ah, I'm talking like Madara now…"

Kurama snorted. "As much as I hated the man, I'll admit, compared to him… you fail in comparison."

Naruto was not bothered by that response. "It is Madara who failed. I live. And continue to live. And even if this takes us decades, we will eventually do it…" Naruto said. "But we need better understand of time… for that reason, I need to speak to Dimaria. And then Irene before we begin our search."

"Before that, will you be able to retrieve the magic you put inside that storage? Last time you failed to retrieve anything you had stored there because the space was limitless and you could not survive there because it does not support life…"

"Do you think I would do something as stupid as that? How many years did it take for us to make those lacrima? You'd think I'd risk losing them?"

"It would not be the first time you did."

"You have such low opinion of me," Naruto said quietly. "In any case, we must now turn them into raw stones of energy that we can break apart as 'food.' But this can be done smoothly. For now, we must deal with this little problem of our inability to master the art of time and make breakthrough in creating a body for you."

"Your inability… not our…"

Naruto was silent for a moment before shaking his head. "Magic particles are rather dangerous. But because of you, and being a former shinobi who has his chakra points bloated by your chakra, my capacity to hold magic is amazingly high."

"Having too much magic power doesn't always translate to strength. Even when you had ridiculous amounts of chakra, you could not do much other than create those Kage Bunshin…" Kurama reminded Naruto. "You seem to forget that you also use a lot of magic compared to others."

"With high magic volume comes with high magic consumption," Naruto said with a sigh. "In any case, we might need to even learn the One Magic or the magic that Zeref used. But once more, we will have to consider the rules of such magic, because if we break them, we become cursed. I've already lived a cursed life by being a Jinchuriki, and now I am free, I would rather not suffer the same fate once more."

"And if there is no other way?"

"We will cross that bridge when we have to. We should head to the Alvarez. I believe we have collected enough magic power to work around diluting things," Naruto said in thought.

Absorbing pure magic particles could be lethally dangerous. Had it not been for his strong life-force, he would have already accidentally killed himself. The thing he truly hated about magic was its set of rules that simply could not be broken without incurring the penalty for such an offence. At least this way took away some risks.

"You just want to see that woman," Kurama said. "Will it be safe though?"

"We are not openly going there, my friend. If possible, I'd like to disappear without anyone who I have not met knowing I was there," Naruto said.

A couple of days later

Whether days or months passed, nothing seemed to change about the Empire. There was one glaring fact that remained constant throughout these years it has been formed – it was filled up by mages who lacked a moral compass. Most of them were merciless brutes who got aroused by seeing others suffer and inflicting the damage themselves. A bunch of arrogant pricks. Defeat them from their high pedestal and they start crying like little children who've lost their candy. People who thought they were superior could not think of defeat. Once you kicks them from behind, it is only wailing pitifully, looking for mercy when they had refused to give any in their time as the stronger.

It was perhaps laughable for Naruto to look down on these animals. He had lived amongst them. When Zeref was forming this Empire, subduing guild after guild, he had wielded his axe, assisting the black wizard. Perhaps the indifference that now ruled his life made him ignore the hypocrisy. Well, not everyone was an agent of evil. There were good people. The civilians were an ignorant bunch, oblivious to many dangers that surrounded their Emperor and his shields. For them, a demolition job by the Shields was a victory against an enemy of their home. Who would not cheer victory against an enemy?

Naruto glanced into the black sky, with an expressionless mask on his face. He'd left this place but here he was once again. He could not really abandon Irene. Not after what he has said to her. Not after what they have been through together.

Irene's residence was quiet. Though, it could be a torture house when the woman felt like it. Her sadistic personality often left him with a bitter taste on his mouth. But he'd only commented on it being distasteful and worked to stop it without actually slapping some senses into the woman. He did not step inside but jumped over to the rooftop, and then laid still on his back. There stars had abandoned the night, it was just purely dark. Chickens were already asleep now. Accidental people were lying in their rooms, afraid of the dark. Whether it was dark or day, Naruto did not care. There was no time that was not convenient for him – not unless he didn't want to do anything.

It didn't take long for Irene to show up, and this time, there was no violence. She just stood by him, glaring into the dark night.

"Acnologia came to my place and attacked me," Naruto started in a measured tone.

"How is that unusual?"

"He came to a place where no one should know." Naruto glanced at Irene. She was looking at him with the corner of her eyes. "Zeref asked?"

"He did," Irene said with indifference. "What do you want?"

Such coldness. And to think that this was a woman he had shared some fond memories with. She was no doubt bitter about his decision to leave. He had left her – as he had often done. Perhaps it was why she could not depend on him on anything. She did what she wanted – because he was not constantly around.

Sighing deeply, Naruto closed his eyes and responded. "I've missed you."

"You and I are enemies. When you decided to leave the Empire, you severed your friendship. At this moment, I could alert the others who are in the capital and they would not waste time coming here."

Was she cold enough to do that? Naruto knew the answer. But that would probably be because she had no appetite to fight him. August would have told her that if they ever stood on opposite sides, she was to do the dirty work. Such a cruel world. But this was living. He had seen too many suns and moons to be surprised. Generations may come and go but fundamentally, humans hardly changed.

"I need your help with something," Naruto said in a serious tone.

Irene had no doubt it had something to do with his problems… or at least the desire to become human again. That appeared to be his greatest desire. In fact, everything he did seemed to move toward that goal. The other things were merely side projects. She amused herself thinking that Naruto probably didn't have restless nights thinking about Acnologia's immense power. He probably has not skipped even a meal while plotting for a way to tackle the Dragon King. He didn't even fear the dragon to begin with. What was he that feared? Not being human again? Probably.

Irene shook her head.

"For someone who complaints that the Spriggan lack a moral compass you surely have no regard to the state of the magic world or the fact that Acnologia can end this world," Irene said with a stare.

"It isn't that I do not care… I just don't try to prioritize it. I have lived my life trying to be the hero. But now I am not concerned about being a hero. I believe that after everything I have done and been through, I deserve to be selfish," Naruto explained with a slight shrug of shoulders.

"What have you done?"

Naruto just smiled. "Some other day," he said.

"For someone who claims that the Emperor hides things, you surely hide a lot of things. I spoke to him some time ago and he asked me what I knew about you," Irene said, her eyes no longer at Naruto but the heavens. "It is most likely that he was merely sowing the same seed you tried. You think I'm naïve. You are not. I know you, but I cannot say the same about his Majesty," Irene shook her head. She really hoped that his naivety would not bring an end to things one day.

"Someone calling the Black Wizard naïve?" Naruto put on a surprised look on his face. "This is new. But I would have preferred it if you didn't think I'm playing a game. I'm far too old to be playing that kind of a game. You are not a child Irene. I think treating you as a naïve child to be taken for manipulation would be disrespectful," he added in a firm tone.

"What do you want me to do?"

"Teach me an enchantment," Naruto said. "Say, you have two parts of you, would it be possible to enchant the other part in another body?"

Irene's head turned down to fully stare at the blond. He was asking her something curios. It left her with a lot of questions of which he was probably not going to answer. "The body is only a temple to the soul. You have one. Unless you are talking about that fox."

That fox, Naruto realized something. Perhaps one of the reason there was this gap between him and Irene was because he always kept things from her. How could she trust him? How could she be fully open with him when he couldn't do the same? Shaking his head, Naruto responded.

"His name is Kurama," Naruto said. "He has been my partner since birth. I told you of the tragedy that was my birth. The fox became my partner that night and has been since. I give him a hard time, but he has saved my life countless of times. I am even alive because of him."

Irene glance to the side for a moment. She didn't consider sitting down. She didn't want to be comfortable. "Partner, huh? What happened?"

"We encountered a powerful foe. In order to save both of us, Kurama had to 'give' himself away but this resulted in unintended consequences. I lost most of my humanity. I've been trying to regain it but it looks very slim. Either way, I want to restore my friend. This is my life long dream. I want him to be whole again and walk in Majesty. You see, his true form… hmm, yes… he is the same size as you in your Dragon form… I was thinking of learning that body swapping enchantment to be able to get it done once I have a body," Naruto said.

"I can do it for you," Irene said.

"You've not the slightest of intentions of teaching it to me, do you?"

"You are no longer part of the Empire."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't be like this. We were together before the Empire came around. We should not allow it to come in between."

"You'll let me know when you want it done," Irene said, ignoring what Naruto had just said.

The blond shook his head. Well, there was one clear path now and it was to create an etherion body for Kurama. But that was going to take him years and a lot of effort. But it could be done. He just has to be careful that he doesn't end up breaking the rules of magic and end up being cursed. He was tired of curses and carrying burdens. He needed a free life and would not do anything to jeopardize it, not unless there was no other way out of a tricky situation.

"How have you been, Irene?"

She glanced at him for a second before looking away. When she tried to leave, Naruto grabbed her left leg, stopping her on her tracks. He put on a small honest smile.

"Please sit with me… even if you don't want to talk. I'll insist."

"You say please and insist?"

"I just really want you to sit with me," Naruto said calmly. Irene thought about it for a minute before speaking.

"Follow me," she said. She was not going to sit on his terms. If he wanted to speak to her, he could speak to her somewhere she commanded and could relax without the need to watch over someone.

"Does it have to be on your terms?" Naruto asked with a slight shake of his head. "I'll follow you, but tell me what has been happening in this world."

"What have you been doing?" Irene asked instead.

"Slumber… it is the perfect way to try to regulate the magic moving through my body in the pathways. Since I am not human, I can induce sleep for as long as I want, as long as I'm at a place where I can still absorb magic…" Food did not sustain him, but Magic did the trick. He was talking about pure magic particles or as he would call it in his world, natural energy.

"Nothing much, but I hear Fiore has been doing grand magic games above the place where they used to host the Dragon King Festivals…" Irene said in thought. How times have changed. Long ago, she'd been in harmony with Dragons and now they were all dead, herself turning into one.

"I wish I could have gone," Naruto said. "To the Dragon festivals… of course. Human games can only be limited…" He paused glancing at Irene. "If you could change the past, what would you change?"

"What is the point of the question? I cannot change the past, thinking about what may or what could is a pointless exercise," Irene said sharply.

"Maybe," but this world had a time travel gate. These people go could into the past and the future. Space time ninjutsu was a lot more different as it had only allowed one to create a pocket dimension of their own and move through distance in the blink of an eye. Naruto could not move in such a method but he had managed to find a way to rip the fabric of space to create his own dimension. Then again, it was perhaps not his dimension but he had simply managed to successfully create a door into the limitless space that could not sustain life form – for a human at least.

"But it describes what you aspire and regrets. I have no doubt you wish things could have gone different. If your husband had not done what he did, if you had not lost your humanity, things could have been different… my childhood dreams and desire where shaped by my pain. The pain of loneliness and suffering at the hands of people who considered you a demon. Perhaps it is because I have now become indifferent, I wonder why I still sucked up to them and loved them even when they would have driven me to insanity had I not been strong," Naruto said in a thoughtful tone, a sad smile on his lips.

"You were just naïve," Irene said. From what he has said before, that was the only truth.

"True…" Naruto said. "Have you given up?"

"I am a dragon despite my wealth of magic and knowledge, I have not been able to find a way to change things. I've just accepted that I am a dragon."

"What a sad miserable woman… even in that form, you still feel the sensations of a humans… sexual sensations I mean. The eggs inside of you are probably still that of a human, but you'd probably give birth to a deformed human… or a human… you never know…" Naruto said with a smile on his face. "But I do think it is impossible to return to your human form. But such a process would require magic that no one possess."

"Is that why you have been gathering magic?"

"Partly," Naruto said. Then stood up and stepped in front of Irene. He placed both his hands on her shoulders and spoke in a firm tone. "I just decided this now, making you human again will be my lifelong mission. You are not allowed to die before that happens."

"If I die?"

"What I am saying Is that if it means I must fight Acnologia, The Emperor, or even a death of God, I will do so…"

Irene snorted. "If you really wanted that, you would not have left."

Naruto pulled her closer. Irene did not react but just stared at him with cold eyes. Through the years, Naruto had only seen her eyes warm, in maybe three or four occasions. This cold look did not bother him. He still smiled.

"I'm sorry for that and for always leaving you alone."

The Following Day

Disguised in a henge, and magical power suppressed to the maximum, Naruto was walking through the streets of the capital of the Alvarez Empire with hands inside his pockets. The streets were lively as always. The people here lived in ignorance. But it was usually like this with civilians. It was always the warriors who knew the danger and the ungrateful normals could only walk around, passing judgement about things they could not even comprehend. Even so, Naruto was never at loath to walk around the streets. He was always happy to busk in the warm reception he received from the citizens of this empire.

"You must very pleased with yourself," Kurama said to Naruto.

Naruto did not immediately respond. He looked at a large building in front of him. His next target was surely here, getting drunk. That vulgar woman didn't have a problem with intoxicating her brain cells. But it was preferable compared to her bringing terror to those she viewed as enemies.

"Any reason I should not?"

"Just be careful you don't get stabbed in the back because you have loved a woman. Your affections tend to make you uncontrollable and make you do stupid things," Kurama said with disgust over the thought of some of Naruto's actions in the past.

"You cannot fault the heart," Naruto defended himself. He then smiled. "Well, I may have been a little overzealous in my love for both Sakura and Sasuke."

"A little?" Kurama asked with disbelief. "That Uchiha nearly killed you. Had it not been for me, you would have died miserably chasing after an arrogant bastard. Even after he nearly killed you, you still chased after him like a love sick puppy. You even got begged the Raikage to forgive him for his actions. You should not have. You should have made him face the consequences of his actions."

"Death?"

"It is what he deserved."

"You are just saying that 'cause of your contempt for all Sharingan wielders," Naruto said with a shrug.

He walked into a bar. The men Dimaria led when she had to battle always came here. This was their stomping ground. This was their faction's headquarters. Naruto had some moments here where he ended up trampling on some of them after some argument with the Goddess of time. That'd pissed her but Naruto hadn't cared enough to nurse her wounded pride. The bar was crowded. There was noise. Laughter. The smell of alcohol. Men hunters were eagling around the large hall, looking for a target.

Naruto snaked around the many tables and went into a separate room. It was like an office. There was the smell of loneliness. Dimaria was lying on a couch, alone. What a miserable woman. Perhaps it was because no else in her tribe was around. He stopped at the entrance and folded his hands across his chest, looking at her.

After a moment, his silent footsteps made way toward her. Being a former shinobi was truly useful in such moments. You were trained to kill in all different ways. Silent killing usually was for masked crusaders. Naruto had never been a fan of death, but life taught you that not all lives could be saved.

Dimaria's eyes snapped open when Naruto sat just below her waist, hands balanced on both sides of her head. He was staring at her. Very close. The henge was already undone. She frowned seeing him here.

But before she could say anything, the distance was closed. His lips were touching hers. She could feel his breath. The warm touch of his fingers which were now moving on her stomach. He pressed her. Pushing her lips open. Dimaria did not move. But it did not stop his smooth, skilled lips from soothing hers. She kissed back. After a couple of seconds, his tongue slipped inside her mouth. She refused to dance with it and considered biting it. But she just twisted her face to the side to stop the kiss.

"What the fuck are you doing here you traitor?" She demanded.

Naruto just smiled and gently fell on her. His hands snaked around her and held her right. She felt warm and nice. Regardless of how cold she was, she was still a beautiful woman. There was a part of him that was willing to ignore all her flaws as a person to enjoy the blood flow she aroused within him. The physical sensations were always different. He felt a little aroused just thinking about it.

Dimaria tried to push him away but he was not saying anything nor was he budging. He'd always been ridiculously strong. There probably was no one with pure physical strength to match his. Why had she even bothered trying to struggle? She tried to activate her magic but instead of her teeth clicking, she ended up biting Naruto's fingers after they'd forced themselves inside of her.

"Don't be like this, dear. I've missed you."

"Get off me! What will happen if someone sees us?!"

"I sealed the door and I was disguised when I came here. Nobody knows I am here, our secret is a little safe," Naruto said in a smooth tone.

Dimaria stopped struggling after appearing to think for a couple of seconds. She closed her eyes. She must be crazy. The bastard had abandoned the Empire and now he was here. He'd always done as he pleased. Even in battle, he'd even gone as far as to stop in their way to avoid what he termed as pointless bloodshed and death. August had condoned it. But he'd occasionally fought with Ajeel because of it. Well, to suggest they fought was glossing over it. Naruto had smacked Ajeel with his stuff. She stayed silent, feeling his warmth. Invel was going to glare at her. He'd already said this was the enemy but the Emperor had said they should be no fighting with Naruto, unless he said it was okay to do so. And by then, it would be war. For now, he'd said, they could all be civil. He'd said that looking at Irene. Not that she even reacted to it. Of course, Invel had opposed but the Emperor stood firm.

"Will you get off me? I'm struggling to breathe. And I was certain I'd told you not to touch me again without my permission!"

She was struggling again. Did she just enjoy struggling? No, she did not like being dominated. She wanted to dominate. He would never give that to her. The only person who was going to dominate him was Irene – at least on his terms. Naruto flipped them both, putting her atop. His hands were behind her, holding her firmly. His right moved to her butt and slapped her.

"You're a woman now. Randi must have also grown. Last time I saw you, you were still a girl. But these couple of years have been good to you."

He was reminding her that they've not seen each other in years. It had truly been a some time since they last spoke or even touched. Yet, she could still remember his touch as if he had been touching her earlier this morning. The only thing there was longing. But of course, she was not going to admit that.

"Are you going to bring her up? But yes, she has grown."

Naruto smiled. "Sorry, it is just you. But there is no need to be jealous of her. I hold no such feelings…"

Dimaria snorted. "Yeah right," she said with sarcasm. "You have not aged. Not even a little."

"I've stopped aging," Naruto said. His hand slipped from behind her front. When he tried to slip it inside her pants, she quickly stopped him and got up. Naruto just smiled without getting up. "I can smell the excitement."

"What do you want? You have been gone all these years? Why have you come back?"

"I came to see you."

Dimaria glared at him. "I can walk out of this room, right now."

"You and threats," Naruto said with a shake of his head. "I did come to see you. But there is also something I want. It is very fundamental for my goal. But for now, we can try to please each other. Don't you think? Have you found anyone whose performed better than me?"

"Who said someone touched me?"

Naruto stared before laughing. "Ah, of course, they are all too unworthy and weak to touch you." He rose and tried to pull her closer once more but Dimaria went away. He blinked as he saw her standing by the entrance, with bottles of beer. Time magic, he realized.

"If I indulge you, you might decide to just disappear. And I'll just hate you further. And will feel used. I'll indulge you, but for my own pleasure. But talk to me first…" Dimaria said in a stern tone before sitting on the couch once more.

Naruto sat up and settled calmly. "You know drinking with me is not fair…"

Dimaria blinked. "I forgot about that," she said before shrugging with indifference. "Where have you been?"

"My home. I'd slumbered there while resting. But I was cut short when Acnologia suddenly showed up and destroyed it. I had to dance a bit before fleeing," Naruto explained before gulping down the beer. It felt bitter. But at times, this feeling just made him miss being completely human.

"Flee like a coward," Dimaria shook her head. "But you are not a coward, are you?"

"Since when don't you believe that? You've always been the one to call me a coward."

"I have the right to call you that," Dimaria said, staring at him. "So, time just moved while you slept. Your indifference sometimes astounds me," she said in a measured tone. "Especially given the gospel you like preaching."

"My thoughts are unfair, just as life is," Naruto said with indifference. "You still hating on me?"

"Without question. The moment I see you on the opposite side of the battlefield, I'm attacking you," Dimaria said firmly.

"If you were not such a nasty person, we would truly get along."

"And yet you are here, waiting to see me naked."

Naruto laughed. "Fair point," he said. "How long?"

"I have all day… and it isn't like Irene is waiting for you. When you leave here, the next time we meet, we might be enemies…"

"We've always been enemies."

"In front of people… but yes, I still hold some contempt," Dimaria said with a nod of her head. "You came here because of my magic, isn't it?"

"Yes," Naruto said. He then turned to Dimaria and pulled her toward him. Without warning, her grabbed her bust, and then licked her on the right side of her face. "I'm getting impatient." He whispered in a husky tone.

Dimaria did not react. She did not show excitement. Her face was masked by an expressionless look. She put away the bottle she held and then spoke.

"I thought of stabbing you for a moment," she whispered into his left ear in a dangerous tone. She then started to plant kiss on the side of his neck.

"It would have just made me bleed, not kill me."

"You'd still have felt pain."

"You truly are a sadistic woman," Naruto said with nonchalance.

* * *

Contempt. Naruto could never understand just how this woman felt about him. What had he done that she liked and hated him at the same time? She never expressed any likeness in her face. It was always contempt and then insults from her mouth.

"Will you stop looking at me as if I have killed someone dear to you? How do you even have the guts to look at me like that after everything?" Naruto asked, staring at Dimaria with a raised eye brow.

"I hate myself for indulging you," Dimaria said in a whisper. "What do you really seek to achieve with the knowledge about time? Ever since we have known each other, it seems to be the only thing that you care about…"

Naruto smiled. A sly smile. "That is not completely true, and you know it."

"There is no other truth… and if things were different, you would not have treated me like a cheap prostitute even after stealing my innocence."

"I apologized," Naruto said with a stare. "In any case, a God of time resides inside of you. A God of time should be able to manipulate time any way they liked because they rule over it. The fact that you get to be called a God over something it means that you either have absolute control over it or some degree of control. From what I have seen from you, you cannot manipulate time to do anything. Which is a disappointment, really. Then again, gods of this world have limits. At times, I think they are nothing more than what I call a god in my world," he said with a slight shake of his head.

"I will try to ignore the insult you just tossed to my side," Dimaria said in hardened tone.

Naruto ignored this and just continued speaking. "I want to know as to the limits one would have to manipulate time. I have questions, is it possible to reverse time? To fast forward it? No, reversing it is possible. But just a second of reversing the time of the whole world can cost you your entire lifespan. It is really not something I mere human can play with. But a God does not have limited lifespan as humans."

"What would you do if you found a way to do it? I'm not saying I can't or can. Even if I could, I would never do it for you."

Naruto smiled – a truly bitter smile. "I do not have any noble intentions. I'm actually a very selfish person. My study for magic is for entirely personal reasons, nothing grand. And I know you should not mess around with time. The price of messing around with it are heavy. But of course, not for a God."

He then stood up. He bent over to Dimaria and kissed her on her forehead. "I will see you soon, Dimaria. I will be gone for a little while. But I will be very conscious. I head to Fiore. I hear there is something interesting happening there."

* * *

Kurama opened his eyes, trying to figure out just what Naruto was thinking about his recent plans with both Irene and Dimaria. He didn't think it was merely emotional attachments. There were even times he wondered if Naruto even cared for another human. He was no longer that child. He was no longer naïve. The number of years he has lived have certainly done their damage. But Kurama was not complaining. He just didn't like it when Naruto kept his thoughts hidden, even from him.

"Do you really hope to rewind time?"

"It is a thought," Naruto answered. He was walking along the streets once more, heading over to Irene to say his goodbyes to her. "But I don't intend to rewind the time of the whole world. While my life-force means I can work with Magic that drains the life of a person, I want to avoid getting old because of such recklessness."

"But this has nothing to do with us." They already had a plan. It was something they'd considered long before. Zeref had come to the picture because of this plan.

"Indeed," Naruto said. "That is why I won't bore you with the details. I will surprise you."

"I'm not sure I'm going to like the surprise," Kurama said. "But that aside, are we really going to Fiore?"

"Yes," Naruto said with a small nod. "I'll little disappointed with what we learned from Dimaria though. Her Magic only allows her to stop the flow of time in a world that she creates. It is merely a fraction of time Magic. Thus, you cannot say she controls time, but a mere fraction of it. We must look for more properties of time to control before we can even begin to think of reversing time."

"Another long process."

"Indeed," Naruto said. "For that reason, we can now no longer afford to slumber. Another reason for going to Fiore is that there is another woman who can control certain properties of time."

"Who?"

"That woman we spoke with at the boat last time we were at Fiore. I believe her name is Ultear. She is a member of the Magic Council. We must find her, speak to her and try to learn more about how she manipulates things."

"You think she is just going to tell you the secrets of her magic?"

Naruto smiled. "Of course not; we will force her if he must. I don't care if she is part of the Magic Council. Those arrogant pricks are hardly relevant to anything." He said before pausing for a second. "But first we must first explain to Irene where I have been."

He also wanted to see the Magical Games in the country. He had to see what kind of games they were hosting and how things were in Magnolia. He might even come across Zeref. The one thing he hoped to avoid coming across was Acnologia. The Dragon was likely to chase after him until they battle it out this time around. Naruto had no desire to fight a battle that could threaten his very existence. At least not now. There was no pressing reason to do so. It was not like Acnologia was going around attacking humans for the pure reason of destruction.

"You must explain."

"I thought we were partners."

"When it comes to your fun, we are not partners. I'm not the one who enjoys fooling around with women."

"If you want to do it, I can let you temporarily take control of my body."

Kurama snorted. "Have you started smoking?"

* * *

Hellows hellows… Once more, I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And everyone else, thank you for liking this story.

I understand the time skip might confuse some people. But to make it simple, Naruto's 'slumber' ends around the same time Natsu and the others return after the time skip. I don't plan any time skips for the foreseeable future.

My pairing is Irene, at least that is the main ship. But given her character, it is really difficult to pull off. Seeing a change in her is going to take some time. The difficult part is that Naruto generally doesn't want to 'change' her, he just wants her to be happy. It still is nevertheless going to take long for her character to grow and develop. Bear with it.

Next chapter? Yes, Naruto arrives in Fiore, there will be another flashback and he will invade the Magic Games… or maybe not.

The Omnipresent Sage


	4. Chapter 4

Naruto looked over the Town of Magnolia with an expressionless mask on his face. When last had he even touched on this Town? He could not remember. But it was surely lively. Then again, with a Guild as famous as Fairy Tail stationed within the Town, it was bound to be a lively place. The mages of Fairy Tail were infamous – but most especially, the Salamander – for their powers of destruction. There was never a clean assignment and the Magic Council has always had thoughts about destroying the Guild or just outlawing. Of course, such an idea was nonsensical, but the Council was not known for making fair and just decisions. Had he been that child of a shinobi, he would have been fighting to wrongs the council has done – but he now really didn't care. As long as they didn't get in his way, he would not care about what the Council was up to.

Still, things could go either way with him now playing in this stage. He really didn't want to have to battle the Council – because only one would remain standing. As ineffective and insufficient as it was, it still managed to hold back on some lurking darkness from crawling into the shadows.

"Do you think we will have a problem with the Council now that we are on that stage? This is Ishgar, those unjust wizards look at things with the eyes of a judgmental god."

Kurama didn't offer an immediate response. Things could either way. But within the Alvarez, Naruto had not stood out that often. Whenever he was within this continent, he had always kept to himself. But things would be different now, wouldn't they? He was going to be loud, draw attention. With his Magic power, there was just no way the council was going to let him be – not to mention he was with the Alvarez Empire.

"The worst thing that could happen is them asking you to join the Wizards Saints." Kurama said with distaste over the thought of Naruto being a Wizard Saint.

Naruto laughed. "Yes, that would be worst," he said with a wide grin. "The strongest are so called Gods of Ishgar but compared to the Spriggan, they are truly just children. Levels of power cannot truly be compared," the blond said with a shake of his head.

It was a little sad but then again, it was not unusual. Within the Shinobi world, Konoha had always stood out, producing finer shinobi than the rest. One village had just one outstanding shinobi but Konoha would have a handful. The generation in which he was born could not even be compared to the generation of the Sandaime Hokage in terms of power. Well, he didn't have to worry about the gap – he was not that lacking.

"And yet you chose to come here."

"It's for my moral conscious."

"A moral compass that you follow when its convenient."

"You got a problem with that?"

"I'm only looking out for survival," Kurama said with shrug. "Let's just get on with the business and get out of here. This innocent, and happy mood is making me uncomfortable."

Naruto laughed. They did not usually parade around such places. In fact, he spent more time away from humans. If he was with humans, it was not the kind of happy people. It was miserable people with loose screws up in their heads. Irene was certainly a prime example of this. Where was he even leaving Dimaria? At least Brandish was a good girl. Ah, yes, a very good girl but she had her own problems and she loved her Empire a little too much for his liking. She'd probably never betray it regardless of what happens.

"I'm sure many people would be disappointed in me," Naruto said with a look on his face.

Strangely enough, there was little concern over that. Perhaps it was the number of years he has lived. You live long enough, certain things you stop caring about. Your heart never truly remained the same. Naruto hoped that he would not lose it all. He was not a bad person – just a bit questionable at times. His current life was a far cry from the never giving up life, hunting for peace kind of life and doing good with all the goodness of his heart. Those had truly been good days. Stupid, yes, but good days. He had experienced love, friendship, pain, loneliness, betrayal, the sense of success and achievement when the village had welcomed him with open hands and hoisted him into the air, chanting his name after his heroics with Nagato. A lot of luck there, but he had done it.

"It's not like the current you cares about that," Kurama said. "Let us just get this over with and then get out of here."

"Why the hurry?"

"I don't trust you won't end up doing something bad to amuse yourself," Kurama said in a stern tone. "You wouldn't even think twice before starting a war with Fairy Tail if it meant you could test how they would fair against the assault of the Alvarez Empire."

Naruto was expressionless for a second, thinking deep about what Kurama had just said. "That is an idea but I wouldn't go that far," the blond said, while grinning. "You know, I would have the damn council on my back. It's best to do things differently. But before my urges get the best of me, let us do as you request, partner."

* * *

Lucy couldn't stop the imaginary tears from streaming down her cheeks as she glanced at her wallet. There wasn't much. In fact, she was now poor. There was no money for rent. She was going to get kicked out of her apartment if she doesn't get a job – a high paying job. She glanced at Natsu as they walked through the streets of Magnolia and then frowned. It was his fault she was broke and glaring at the fate of homelessness. Had it not been for him, she would not be on this situation. They got high paying jobs but end up forfeiting the pay because of his destructive tendencies. When he was not destroying properties, he was gleefully forgoing pay. She didn't mind charity there and there but it didn't help if they end up doing all their jobs for free. Talking to him would be a waste of time. Natsu was not going to listen.

He was more interested in beating up bad people and causing havoc wherever he went than money. He lived under a tree – he didn't have to worry about rent.

When he stomach growled madly, she glared at Natsu. Never was he going to buy her food. She was the adult here. But she didn't hate it, did she? There was the occasional trouble and her worries, but she had fun with him. She enjoyed it here – being his partner.

"Natsu, did you hear that," Happy suddenly asked, happily floating above the two.

Natsu faced Lucy, eyeing her curiously. Her face reddened slightly with embarrassment but whether he registered it or not was another matter altogether. "You okay, Lucy?" he asked with concern.

Before Lucy could respond, Happy spoke. "I thought it was dragon growling… are you sure it was her?" the cat asked with blank look on its face.

"Of course it was me!" Lucy shouted with glare leveled toward the cat. Happy was making fun of her, again. Her embarrassment evaporated quickly as she thought swatting it from the air. But when her stomach growled again, she stopped.

"Ah, that was you," Happy exclaimed.

"I'm hungry! If we don't eat something soon, I'm going to faint…" the blonde cried.

"I'm not going to carry you if you faint… you are way too heavy!"

Lucy swung a fist toward Happy – who happily floated away to avoid getting hit. "I don't ever hear you complaining when you carry Natsu."

"He isn't heavy as much as you!"

Lucy tried to take another swing at the cat. "I'm going to kill you stupid cat!"

Happy looked at her stupidly curious. "Are you sure you should be wasting your energy shouting at me? You did say you were going to faint."

"I wouldn't be hungry if we actually got paid doing our job. I even had to spend what I had to fee…"

Lucy froze as he was bit by an intense wave if magic power she had never quite experienced in her life. Her heart pummeled against her rib cage as he knees sucked away all her energy, growing weak. Last time she experienced such power was when Acnologia appeared in Tenrou Island – and that had turned up badly for them. She glanced up; even Happy seemed to have frozen in midair. It was impossible but she was seeing it. The flying cat was trembling, with its wings tucked in behind like a tail. The tension in the air was pulsating. Even the normally dense Natsu seemed to be aware of the danger before them. Lucy hoped it was not an attack. But she knew, there was no one in Fairy Tail with that much magic – not even Gildarts or the Master. Seconds became a flash. Time seemed to tick along with her heart and the seconds she had until she met her end. If this was an enemy, there was just no way they could win.

It took a couple of seconds, but the man emitting such a malevolent pressure finally came into view. He looked normal. The stuff he held did no change and he had a smile on her lips. The crystal blue eyes seemed clear, yet she could not fathom what was within. Lucy blinked as she realized, he was staring directly at her. Did he know her? She didn't know him.

"Hey, watch where you going!"

He'd bumped into Natsu, causing the Dragon Slayer to fall flat on his butt. It was something remarkable, especially since he hadn't even budged or even seem to blink to show he hit something. Lucy couldn't say he hadn't bumped into Natsu intentionally. He was looking at them when he did so. His eyes may be on her, but there was no way he could not have seen the Salamander.

"Sorry," Naruto's eyes fell away from Lucy and turned to Natsu. He was smiling – a bit of a grin. "I got distracted by your girlfriend…" he said, holding out his right hand.

"Girlfriend?" Natsu looked confused as he took Naruto's hand. The blond smelled a little like him and other Dragon Slayers. He was surely a Dragon Slayer even if there was another foul stench mixed up in there.

Lucy nearly face palmed at Natsu's expression. Ignorance, not, being dense was not doing her friend any favors. How was he like this? But then again, his father was a Dragon, his best friend was a cat. Still, credit to Happy – the cat seemed to know more about love than Natsu. It was occasionally chasing after another cat after all.

The pressure seemed to be fair now. That immeasurable amount of magic that had her trembling in fear seemed to have simply disappeared. But there was no doubt, its shadow loomed large over the man before him. She was even afraid to look past him.

"I think he meant Lucy," Happy commented, staring at Lucy's bust.

"What the hell are you staring at your perverted cat?!" Lucy put her arms across her bust to try to hide from the eyes staring at her.

"Well, those are the only things that could have distracted him," Happy said as a matter of fact.

Naruto laughed, seeing the exchange between cat and Lucy. It was like cat and mouse, no? He then smiled a bit slyly. "The cat is not completely wrong. It was nevertheless wrong for me to stare while you are with you boyfriend."

By that logic, it would not have been wrong if he did it when she was alone. Was he a shameless pervert? "He is not my boyfriend."

"Oh?" Naruto's smile widened as he took a little step closer to Lucy. "Naruto…." He said holding out his right hand. "Lucy, yes?"

"How'd you know that?"

"The cat mentioned it," Naruto responded causally. "So, Lucy, would you like to have lunch with me? It can be a date, if you want."

"Huh?!"

Naruto laughed. Her baffled expression was amusing. He had seen such looks many times before and it never got old. Of course, lewd comments usually received a slap or an attempt to kick in the nuts.

"I'm just messing with you," he said with a nonchalant wave of his right hand. He then turned to Natsu. "Again, sorry about that," he said before walking past the three.

Lucy stared: what was that? She was sure he was not even a bit sorry. He had hit Natsu intentionally after all. But where had she heard the name of Naruto before? It was not a familiar name but she was sure she had heard it before.

"If you want to follow, you can. He did even offer to buy you food…" Happy commented, seeing Lucy staring at the back of the stranger.

"Shove it!"

* * *

It was fair to say of all Guilds within Fiore, Fairy Tail was perhaps the most infamous of them all. There were legal Guilds which did illegal things and were quite honestly detestable – and that was always due to the Master. Each guild took the image of its master. Fairy was reckless. If Intel was correct, the Guild was most famous for its destruction tendencies and the Magic Council has contemplated disbanding it. Such a notion was of course ridiculous but the Council could do anything it pleases and anyone who opposed would be deemed a threat. Such a corrupt world they were living within. But Still, Naruto really didn't care about the actions of the Council – as long as it had nothing to do with him. He was not going to go out of his way to avoid it. Where would be the freedom and fun in all that?

After a moment of watching the Guild building, Naruto let loose of a long breath before walking towards the entrance. There was only one person he wanted to see – and that was the person with the same scarlet hair as the delightful Irene. If not for Erza, he would not have bothered. He had to see her. To talk to her. To understand and befriend her. For her sake. And for her mother's sake. That ignorant woman would probably never admit her love for her daughter anytime soon, but Naruto would ensure that when she finally does, her daughter would be alive and perhaps mentally ready to get to know her mother.

The moment he stepped into the Guild hall, Naruto was assaulted by a criminally loud noise. But he only took a single step before glass shattered, and everyone froze. Was presence that frightening? His was a little controlled so much that even the likes of Invel disrespected him. Admittedly, a part of him did enjoy seeing people tremble at his magnificence. It reminded him of the day Tenrou Island disappeared, they Ultear and her child so violently shook that they were stuck between two options – jump ship and drown to death or resign to whatever fate he had prepared for them. Thankfully, he'd only been curious about the whereabouts of Zeref – and so, they lived to tell the story of a powerful mage they met.

Naruto placed his hands inside his pockets, and smiled as he looked around. His eyes trailed off at the bar, seeing Makarov sitting there with a jar of beer. The old man was glaring, but his entire body stiff. He was not bad news, was he? This was a little unpleasant now but then again, he didn't want around humans with his main body that often to avoid chaos. Clones had usually done this kind of things while his real body remained hidden in the shadows. Letting loose of a long sigh, he started walking towards the old man – no one said a thing. They just watched him. Only their bodies moving. Once he was a little closer to Makarov, he suppressed his magic power to extreme lengths. There was an audible sigh of relief from the entire hall the moment he relieved them from the pressure of his magic.

Makarov said nothing as Naruto jumped onto the bar counter, sat beside him with the stuff placed in between them. What did this person want from them? He was unnerved, disturbingly bothered by this appearance. If war was going to break out now, this building was not going to survive. But he didn't think Naruto had come here for that. Not when he had just walked in with his head held high. He looked at Laxus, seemed ready to pounce. At least Erza was not here. But she would soon be here. Makarov felt his intestines cringe, seeing the blond watch his children with interest and them, watching him cautiously. At least no one had been stupid enough to attack the man. Natsu would have done it. But he had yet to return from his job.

"Aright you brats!" Makarov suddenly exclaimed. "There is nothing to worry. Just prepare yourself because we leave tomorrow for Fiore to claim out spot as the strongest Guild in this country!"

There was a rally of a cry that agreed with the Master and just like that, the atmosphere became lively once more. Makarov settled down and glanced at the blond once more.

"Let's go to my office," he said in a demanding tone.

Naruto was silent for a couple of moments before shaking his head slightly. "No," he answered. "This is just fine. I'm quite enjoying the view."

Makarov intensified his glare. He really couldn't read the mood or what the blond was thinking. There was no sense of hostility but his magic power wasn't exactly friendly. Seeing that Naruto was not going to budge, he groaned loudly and then faced his children.

"Relax old man," Naruto said in a light tone. "I'm not here for trouble."

"That remains to be seen but your presence here doesn't exactly spell good news for us with the Magic Council. If they knew you were here, I will probably have Rune Knights knocking at the door, asking questions," Makarov said in a flat tone.

Naruto shrugged. It was hardly any relevant to him. And it was not like Makarov has won any awards for following the instructions of the Council. But no doubt given the dictatorship at the Council, anything goes.

"I don't remember being made an enemy of the Council," Naruto said indifferently. "But nothing should really come out of this, unless the Council is truly beyond hope."

Makarov shook his head. "The new Council is even more dangerous than the last," he said with displeasure. They'd been questioned already about s couple of things. Fairy Tail has been threatened with disbandment. It was a ridiculous farce. An abuse of power – but what could he do about it?

"Same old shit," Naruto said. He was surprised that he said words like that. He glanced behind when he felt a presence. It was the smiling face of Mirajane Strauss. He smiled – although he could see a hidden stare within her. Fairy Tail truly had some women – but still nothing he was accustomed to seeing in the Alvarez Empire.

"What would you like for a drink?" Mira asked a bit too nicely.

"With that sweet tone, I'd think you'd slip in something poisonous," Naruto said quietly, and in jest. "But I'll still have water."

Mira's smile didn't slip. She wanted to ask why he'd drink if he had such thoughts but since he was just joking, she shrugged it off. He was dangerous – no doubt. But it did seem that the Guild Master knew him. Yet, what was obvious was that he was not happy to see the blond. No, he was not even expecting to see him. She hardly saw the master this serious. Shaking her head, Mira prepared a glass of water before handing it over to Naruto.

"So, how do you know master?" She asked. "My name is Mira by the way," she added, realizing she hadn't introduced herself.

Naruto just nodded. "We met a couple of years ago," he said. "I…"

Makarov cleared his throat, stopping Naruto from saying anything further. He could have allowed the blond to continue chatting with Mira – to give himself some time to get over his thoughts but he didn't want this person to become familiar with his children. Naruto was a dangerous person – indifferent to many things. His association with Zeref and the Alvarez Empire made things even more complicated. But what bothered him most was his hidden intentions. He may have helped stop the war years ago, but it had been clear that he had absolutely no care over what happened to Fiore or the lives that would have been lost. Admittedly, compared to those Spriggan, he had a moral compass and did not like doing needless things or to put people to suffer just for the sake of it.

"Mira, let me talk to Naruto alone," Makarov said in a serious tone before turning his side glance at Naruto. "What do you want?"

Naruto raised a curios eye brow. "Is this how you greet me now? The Alvarez wanted to kill you back then when you came for audience with the Emperor, and I stepped in. I helped you."

"Do you want payment?" Makarov asked. "And you were not helping me. You did what you wanted to do without consideration of anyone."

Naruto shrugged. "Perhaps," he said in a thoughtful tone. "I understand your concerns. But as I said, I'm not here for trouble. I was just wondering about and decided to make a stop here before moving…"

The children were preparing for the Grand Magic games at the capital. He was going to see them there. There was just no way was he going to miss crashing the games for his amusement and just to see just how powerful the mages in this Kingdom were. He didn't have that much of high standards if God Serena was the best this Continent had produced. Either way, it would be good for this people to know just how weak they are just before the Empire strikes. It would probably create a fuss with the Council, but who cared?

"And?"

Naruto waved his right hand dismissively. "You should know that I departed the Empire some time ago… it has been a number of years."

Though, considering that he had gone against the others previously, it really should not be surprising. After a moment, Makarov took Naruto's words. "No longer getting along?" but they certainly wouldn't just allow someone like him to just leave. He probably knew a lot and his power would only cause a problem for them in the future.

"No," Naruto shook his head. "I was never truly part of it. That is why I had refused to be called a Spriggan." It was always going to happen, the question was simply when and under what circumstances. But with his relationship ship with Zeref, there was no blood shed.

"And they let you leave?"

Naruto snorted. "Like hell; those cold hearted bastards would have rather incinerated me than let me leave freely. Even after those years together, they didn't think to say I had to be killed," he exclaimed, maybe a little more dramatically than intended.

"Why didn't they?"

"I'm not stupid," Naruto simply said. "Well, since I am not welcomed here, I better depart."

Makarov frowned. He had questions. A lot of serious questions to ask of the blond. "Wait."

Naruto jumped to the floor shaking his head. "No can do… perhaps some other day," he said as he picked up his stuff. "I must depart."

He had come here for Erza but she was not in the Guild building. Well, he could always catch her at the Grand Games. He was going to be there after all. But it was truly disappointing that he was not able to get what he wanted. Shaking his head, Naruto departed without saying another word.

Makarov couldn't watch the blond disappear as Laxus was right in front of him. Mira behind, her curious glance at the back of his head. They were waiting for answers. And he wasn't really going to give them. Did Naruto know? He had not made any indication that he did know. But perhaps he knew. There was just no way he didn't know and he could have been here just to confirm. But it did seem like he was searching for someone or maybe something.

"Is he the Naruto?" Mira asked. She has heard the name before, but there wasn't a lot known about the person or his appearance.

Makarov nodded. "Yes," he said. "Whatever you do, don't get into a fight with him, especially you Laxus."

"Is he that dangerous?"

Dangerous, yes. Powerful? Yes. Makarov didn't know much about the blond's power but just how powerful did you have to be to stand in the way of the Spriggan and tell them they would not pass while flexing your muscles? One of them had tried to attack, but he had been soundlessly beat before Naruto departed. The Council was warned but it was not the reason the Empire stopped in its path.

"Yes," Makarov said. "You'll find out eventually. We are likely going to run into him once more…" no doubt, if he was no longer part of the Empire, he was probably going to be moving freely. But then again, didn't he say he has been away from the Empire for a number of years and he was only learning about it now.

* * *

"For a moment, I thought you were going to say you'd come to join Fairy Tail," Kurama said with relief.

"Don't be ridiculous," Naruto was quick to say. Why would he do that when he had no relations with the guild? He didn't care to protect it. Their battles were their battles. He was merely interested in a couple of things. He shook his head, smiling – he had truly changed. The old him would have never had such thoughts.

"You are ridiculous sometimes," Kurama retorted. "But I am glad. I would have taken my chances away from than being stuck with a guild."

"Ah, come on… it's not that bad," Naruto said. "But I would still not allow myself to be tied to a Guild, unless I was the master. Perhaps in the future, I can form my own Guild. We just need to find competent mages to recruit."

It would not be a bad thing. Unless things worked out in a different way with Irene. But maybe in the near future, after Zeref, they could all live somewhere, do anything they wanted. Of course, that would all still depend on whether he has achieved his mission. Without its success, he could never truly rest freely. He could never become wholly human again. He was just hanging by a thread, trying to be human at this stage and if he did not solve it, he would lose the humanity he has.

"The only mages you'd find to be competent enough would be those you used to work with…"

Naruto shrugged. "You never know about what kind of mages are hiding in the shadows, Kurama."

"The idea would not be so bad, but I don't think that woman would join you in anything," Kurama said dismissively. "But then again, humans can surprise you," he added, though without much conviction than his first statement.

"It doesn't matter," Naruto said with a shrug. "We just have to find what works for us. We cannot continue to live in the shadows – especially once we have found a way to correct things that are wrong. It is understandable now since we have to do a couple of things that may get us in trouble with the Magic Council."

"I thought you didn't care about the council."

"Just because I don't care nor fear them doesn't mean that I want to get cross its paths just like that. I don't like dealing with people who have blurred lines on what is wrong or right."

Kurama snorted. "You say it like you know what is right or wrong."

"I'm clear what is right and wrong – I just usually don't care," Naruto defended himself.

In any case, with Erza not around, he could just leave this place and go somewhere or the capital. The Magic games were about to begin and he could go there to make a nuisance of himself. Ezra would be there, so he would see her there. He was not worried about missing her now. Of course, he could still just wait on her or just hunt her down. She had to be somewhere around the town. He shook his head – he had gotten enough. There was no need to hurry about anything. Time was of no consequence to him after all.

"I truly fail to believe that the Natsu were saw is the same E.N.D who is supposed to be powerful enough to be able to beat Zeref," Naruto said with deep disappointment. "It wouldn't take me being serious at all to reduce him to ashes in his current state," the blond added, as he continued to drift further away from the town.

Natsu was supposed to be powerful. He was supposed to be strong enough to perhaps even be a match of Acnologia, but he was not. His Dragon slaying magic was not that

But the mage had come across was normal. He was probably not even aware of his origins. Not even aware he was the creation of Zeref, an Etherion and that he is from years ago. It was a little sad. But the reawaken was probably within him. From what Zeref has said, E.N.D has 'lived' before. There was something that forced his slumber. If Naruto was good with mind tricks, he'd try to find the solutions.

"He doesn't even seem to be the brightest," Naruto said to himself with a slight shake of his head.

Kurama snorted – knowing what Naruto was on about. "It's not like you were any different… he seems to have just been like you…"

Naruto quickly shook his head. "I was dense, but not that dense. And I knew to love when I was still just a brat. He cannot even comprehend any other form of relations," the blond added in a firm tone. "Well, that happens. We will see what tomorrow holds."

Naruto came to an abrupt halt when he sensed a presence behind him with the town of Magnolia also behind him. When he turned his eyes, he could not see anything. He smiled. It was truly fascinating, the sensation he felt at least. A ghost? He shook his head. There was no such thing.

"Who is it?"

"How is it that you can feel my presence? But you cannot see, can you?" Mavis asked with surprise. She'd gotten over her fear of him long time ago.

Naruto turned around, eyes closed – he didn't open them even as he responded. It was not difficult for him to feel the eyes that were on him. But a little bothersome that there was nothing he could do to see the person talking to him. It was perhaps his advance magic and being that even made it possible to even hear her voice.

"Are you not going to answer my question?"

Mavis blinked. He'd completely ignored her question because she'd done the same. She smiled – despite her feelings. "Mavis."

"Ah, Mavis… I assume you know me, which is why you are here." He tilted his head to the side. "I'm a little uncomfortable with talking to someone who I cannot see. Your voice is a little innocent but that can be deceiving. So, Mavis, what do you want?"

"What is your intention with Fairy Tail and your connection with Zeref?"

Naruto smiled. "Ah, someone with connections to the Guild. I assume you also watched me when I was with Makarov…" he said. "Who knows? My intentions are as hidden to you as your figure is hidden to me," he said turning around to depart from Mavis.

**Alvarez**

Despite her magic power and confidence, Dimaria knew that Irene was not the kind of person you wanted to fool around with. She was after all the most powerful female of the Spriggan. Perhaps she has always been a little envious of her relationship with Naruto. But that was still something they never spoke about – not that she has ever bothered trying to hold a dialogue with the cold woman. For Irene, it was usually dishing out orders and enquiring about certain things. The woman was coming straight to her. Dimaria was proud – she did not try to hide behind Brandish, who she was walking with within the passages of the palace of the Emperor.

When the woman stopped in front of her, Dimaria greeted. "Lady Irene..."

What did Naruto even see in these children? The green haired one was cared for deeply. Perhaps it was her innocence and naivety that had made him become drawn to her. But Dimaria was another picture. No doubt, her magic had something to do with it. She wanted to ask about what the blond had wanted with her, but she decided against it.

"Naruto came to see you while he was here," Irene stated, in a stern tone.

Dimaria could only nod.

"I see," Irene said before walking past the two. There was no doubt that he was serious about his promises. Naruto truly wanted to become normal again. And even after all these years, he has yet to give up. She had already done so, thinking the situation as irreversible. It was hopeless but he was a stubborn person. And maybe he had a plan. Maybe it would work or maybe it would not. Anything could happen. But what was certain was that even if it failed – Naruto was not going to give up.

Did she dare to hope again?

Brandish watched Irene depart before facing Dimaria with a stare. Wasn't the one who was always telling her to stay away from Naruto? She had once suspected there was something between the two – but had not made anything out of her thought. Still, Naruto had betrayed them and he had come here. This could not have been long ago. And Dimaria hadn't said anything. What bothered her was that he hadn't come to greet her.

"Naruto was here… when?"

"A week or two ago…" Dimaria responded with a shrug of indifference. "Didn't stay around." She added. "Don't ask. I don't want to talk about it."

* * *

Naruto was floating on his stuff, just above the capital city, overlooking its majesty. This was the same place that once housed dragons- where the Dragon King Festival were once held. Perhaps this was another angle of history trying to repeat itself. Well, there was at least no evil with the games being played here. It was all just games, just to determine which legal Guild was the strongest within Fiore. That just meant that all of Fiore's active and most powerful mages would have gathered here. This honestly filled Naruto with a bit of excitement – which he was struggling to contain. But he would have to do so, yes? He didn't want trouble. He shook his head – what was the definition of trouble anyway?

The concerning thing was the use of magic by the royals. There was something happening – perhaps a reason for the games. He could sense the dark magic here. No doubt, dogs of the Council would be here. If something disastrous was happening, let it happen. He wanted to see the eclipse gate. He wanted to see if it really worked – or perhaps the practical application. It was only going to help him in his studies of time magic.

After spotting his targets, Naruto descended down like thunder.

Rogue and Sting were alarmed when an overwhelming presence suddenly crash landed in front of them. They came to a halt, gripped by a sense of danger and the hair up, flee signs crawling through the skin.

Naruto placed his stuff on his back and took one giant step towards the two Dragon Slayers. He wore a look of disappointment once more. He was staring at disappointment. He could not sense any overwhelming magic from these people. And yet, they claimed to have killed Dragons. He shook his head.

"Aren't your standards a little high?" Kurama asked calmly. But admittedly, none of these so called dragon slayers had the power to slay a dragon.

'This is just weak,' Naruto said with a slight shake of his head.

"In the absence of Fairy Tail Dragon Slayers, you two became quite famous within Fiore, and your boast to have killed your dragon parents. It is honestly dissatisfying, really. If you indeed killed your Dragon, how are you so weak?!"

Of course, he knew that was false. If it was not false, they would have turned into Dragons already by the use of this dangerous magic. The fact that they were still humans, it just showed that they had not. And that their dragons were probably sleeping within them. This was the only method Zeref mentioned was able to create an antibiotic to stop the dragon seed from manifesting. He wondered if he could even extract the antibiotics from the bodies of these Slayers once the whole process is complete.

Sting glared. It seemed that this person was really angry just that they are weak as he claims. There had been many battles that he and Rogue fought, but they had not lost. They've always won – because they were strong. It was a little demeaning for this man to stand over them just to tell them that they were weak, in an angry tone like he really knew what he was talking about.

"We are not that weak!"

Naruto shook his head. "If the Alvarez attacked now, with your current power level, there would be no hope," he said sadly. "But truly, both of you need to train harder. Have you even achieved Dragon Force, yet?"

"You are also a dragon slayer…" Rogue said.

"Ah, yes, it seems I am," Naruto said while glancing behind. "It seems I have also attracted some attention… I will indulge you some time…" he said before completely disappearing into thin air.

"What was that?"

* * *

From his time in the Magic Council, Jellal had come to understand so many things about this world and know more about the dangers that faced it. The Alvarez was certainly a danger – it had once attempted to invade Ishgar before and it could do it again. The fearsome Spriggan 12 were also known for their unmatched strength and destruction. He was shocked when he saw one of them, strolling through the streets carelessly.

Jellal had decided to follow the person from behind just to see what he was doing but if things go wrong, he was willing to blow his cover to fight him, to punish him for this crime.

The former Wizard Saint blinked when the blond suddenly vanished from sight. He hadn't noticed him, had he? He got his answer a voice spoke from behind – his body froze? How had he even moved? He didn't know much about the blond's strength but just that he was powerful – deadly so. The Council had a list of some of the abilities of the Spriggan but with Naruto, there had always been an air of mystery.

"Naruto, and you are?"

Jellal had stopped moving and narrowed his eyes behind. He felt relieved that the blond hadn't drawn his sword and was just standing there, eyes looking straight at him. He quickly looked away. That was frightening. Generally, and from afar, the blond looked harmless, but he was a monster. Those were not the eyes of a normal human.

"Jellal."

Naruto took a thoughtful look on his face. "You've been following me and you intent towards me became a little difficult to ignore. I felt like something was poking me from behind and it just gets annoying, you know… then, what do you want from me, Jellal?"

"Are you the same Naruto who is part of the Alvarez Empire?"

"I am Naruto but I don't know about Alvarez. You could be having me confused with someone or not but why were you following me, Jellal?"

Was there reason not to? The Spriggan were not known for being kind. There was nothing but destruction in their wake and God Serena having joined them, it was all the more reason he should be following this person. He was from an enemy nation. Still, why was it that he felt no intent whatsoever from the blond? If anything, he really did seem curious about why he was being followed. He wasn't really trying to hide from anyone.

"I had my reasons."

Naruto sighed before smiling. "Irene would probably think of a cruel method to make you talk in such a situation…" he said thinking of the woman who showed him many things. "But I am a nice person and I don't really care – as long as you don't cause me trouble while I am…" he trailed off… "Call them."

"What?"

"Your friends, of course."

"And if I refuse?"

Naruto adopted a thoughtful look before shaking his head. "I'm thinking it is a little bothersome to try to force the issue but at the same time, am a little bored and drowning in disappointment," he said.

Jellal was a former member of the Council – and the friend, Naruto recognized them. Ultear was a former member of the Council and she was wanted. This was the man who tried to revive that damned power, looking for Zeref, little did he know, the Black Wizard was very much alive, and just drowning in his misery. These people had betrayed the Council and were probably wanted by it. If he made noise now, the mages all over, would probably come here and it would not be good for them. They were strong enough to flee from the council knights, but it would only ruin them.

Naruto placed his hand on Jellal's right shoulder, putting pressure through his grip. It was so tight that he dug deep, reaching the bones. The former Wizard Saint was left wincing in pain, unable to fight, unable to make a fuss as he didn't want to draw attention to himself. He knew, if the Rune Knights within the capital saw him, they would come after him. Even if he managed to escape, it would just make things difficult for him as they would now be looking for him knowing that he was here.

"I can make a loud noise and then alert some people who would be very happy to seal your magic and put you in a cell, awaiting judgment from the magic council. I don't know what is up, but obviously, there is something you people are doing here. I don't want to get involved, but just call your friends to come over here," Naruto said with indifference.

Jellal tried to resist for a moment, but he didn't feel that Naruto wanted to do something to them. Besides, Ultear had mentioned that she saw met someone frightening who was involved in a 'battle' with Acnologia and actually managed to escape unscathed. When they had met him, he had only asked about Zeref before departing.

Seeing Jellal uncertain, Naruto loosened his grip and then released an overwhelming magic power that hit the mage dead on. It took a second for Jellal to hit the ground with his knees, hands on his chest, breathing labored, and eyes wide with sweat breaking free around his forehead. Within a minute, both Ultear and Meredy were surrounding Naruto, but in a subtle manner. However, they did experience the pressure that was being directed to Jellal and halted in place.

Naruto looked around, seeing that people were going to start noticing that something was up, and then decided to stop things. "Follow me," he ordered, placing his hands inside his pockets, as he started walking away without even sparing the three a glance.

Nothing much had changed – he was still the same frightening person that had made her stiff and decide to jump off a boat and into the sea when he suddenly landed. This was the Naruto of the Alvarez Empire. a frightening man, yet he was apparently not even the strongest of them all. If he was this powerful, what about the others? Well, it was perhaps why God Serena decided to jump the ship and join those people.

There was an unspoken agreement to follow the blond without complaints. Ultear led the front, with both Jellal and Meredy following her from behind. The blond didn't lead them far away. They actually sat outside a restaurant and he ordered food – for himself.

Looking at the food, Naruto couldn't help but swallow a lump of disgust. He craved such fine meal, but there was no taste that he felt when eating it. He was merely doing this just to remind himself of where he had to go – that he was still miserable and needed to work hard to rid himself of this curse.

"No one is going to notice you, you can rest easy," Naruto said in a pleasant tone. He didn't touch his food though. "Now, why are you following me?"

"You are part of the Alvarez Empire and the Spriggan… they have nothing but enemies of Fiore…" Jellal said. "We were worried that the Empire might be planning something with you being here."

Naruto raised an eye brow. "That is a little funny coming from you people. Ultear, you manipulated Jellal, into think you were something you were not. You also manipulated many things, to get your hands on Zeref. What was the reason again? Because, it does seem that you people are in some sort of repentance journey."

The indifference in the tone, and the causal manner in which he glanced at them, Ultear knew that this man didn't care about their past deeds or the present. He was merely asking because of curiosity. They didn't have much of a choice here. But before she spoke, she wanted to know something.

"Is the Alvarez Empire plotting an attack?"

Naruto shrugged. "I left the Empire a couple of years ago… and I was never part of the Spriggan. Someone I knew was just a part of them and I tagged along for convenience." He said casually. "I am here for my reasons. Really, just curious about the Magic Games." He raised an index finger. "Never mind, you don't need to tell me why you needed to revive Zeref… we actually kept a close eye on both of you. Of course, there are personal reasons that I probably don't know… I will find out about that. Given your question, it is safe to assume you are following me because you assumed me to be threat to Fiore. But you can rest assured, I am no threat," he then smiled. "Well, it's not like any of you could do anything about it even if I was a threat."

But there was a threat – from the empire at least. Zeref was still going to attack Fiore and all nations along the way would be collateral damage. Perhaps he was even bored and looking for a good fight. In the years that Naruto has known the black wizard, he had never at once tried to fight the man, even a sparring session. There was a never a need.

If he wasn't strong, Ultear would have felt insulted. This man had escaped from Acnologia, a dragon that nearly wiped out the entire Fairy Tail Guild. Still, the casual way in which he said they could do nothing was a little disturbing. He was not afraid of them. And he didn't view them as a threat. They were inconsequential. She had never felt so frustratingly furious in her life. Wasn't there anything she could do? Nobody had ever lorded to her that she was weak. She had always been special and powerful – but yet, to this person, she was nothing. Just how much of an illusion has she been living under? There were much more powerful beings in this world.

Still, just because there were some immovable objects before her, didn't mean that she was going to throw in the towel and give up. There was still much that she could do.

In the silence, Naruto spoke once more. "Is the dark magic that has attracted you here?"

Jellal narrowed his eyes but still nodded.

"I have sensed it, it does seem that something big is going to happen. In any case, I also want to check it. The magic is truly powerful. And of course, there are reasons behind the Magic Games, of which I intend to find out. If I do, I will tell you. No doubt, you are going to be around here," the blond said.

"Why would you do that?"

"Boredom, looking for something interesting and what you people can do. Your power level can do a lot in this Kingdom." Naruto said as he stood up. "Don't follow me again and don't keep watch."

There was definitely a threat there, even though it was unspoken. Jellal was curious and so he asked. "What will happen if we do?"

"Eh," Naruto shrugged indifferently. "The least I can do is drive a burning stick through eyes…" he said casually before walking away.

There was a bit of silence after he left.

Jellal shook his head. There was really going to be something happening. And they could not leave. They really had to open their eyes much more than they had intended. Even the at face of the Magic Council, they could not afford to stay away, they had to stay still.

End of chapter

Not much to say in this chapter… It's a bit short, but if I had added anything, it would have been just for the sake of it. I was supposed to add a flashback of Naruto and Irene in the old days, but my mind just could not compute it.

I'll try to work around the next chapter to bring it sooner than this one.

The Omnipresent Sage


	5. Power

Ultear felt like death was coming. She couldn't breathe; an iron grip was crushing her throat, slowly, blocking her air ways. She tried screaming, but there was no sound that came out. Her nails dug deep into the hand that was strangling her to hell, but it did not budge–not even a little. Her efforts only served to increase her pain and suck away her energy. Despair filled her.

She even tried kicking it, but she was backed against a wall, held up in the air. The wall gave her no comfort. The eyes that stared at her were cold, void of any emotion. It looked like she was staring at an endless wave of sea water that threatened to embrace her toward death.

Even if she could scream, who could help her? She hadn't made friends in her good or bad days. Even her current company was a group of people she'd manipulated for her agenda–a failed dream she dared dream. Was this the end? The end of her miserable life?

If there was an afterlife, it would only be torment, she was ready for it, but she'd wanted to at least do something in her life–at least before she faced the inevitable death that all humans had to go through.

Her energy drained, Ultear wanted to laugh. Was this her end? It was a damn worthless end. Inwardly, she laughed at her fate–at her end. She couldn't even be afforded to do something good. But did she expect anything good to come out of her life?

She'd already decided there was nothing that she could do to make up for the sins that she has committed in her life.

Yet, even faced with her death, she wanted to cry. She wanted to shed her tears for the failures that she had to contend with. How did it even come to this? How was tailing someone she had a civil conversation with so dangerous that she ended up being in this position without even getting a chance to explain herself?

Suddenly, the grip loosened; she fell on the ground with her knees. Her hands immediately went to her throat, trying to gather her breath. She coughed, hard. Her labored breaths hurt her chest. The sweat watered her skin, but it gave no comfort. It took a couple of moments for her gather her breath–and when she did, she looked up, staring at those cold blue eyes, that seemed to shine bright along the night.

Her heart pounded. He was shadowing her, imposing on her as if he was not human but a monster. He was superior to her.

When had she felt so powerless, so weak when standing before a mage?

"Don't follow me; and don't keep watch…I thought I made this clear…" Naruto said in a cold menacing tone.

Ultear swallowed hard.

Was he going to kill her simply because she was following him? If he had nothing to hide, there was no need to go this far, right? Had he lied to them when he said there was nothing _bad_ he wanted to do but was merely here because of boredom?

"I…I was curious…"

"Curiosity will get you killed. They do say, _curiosity got the cat killed_." Naruto stated in the same tone. He then blinked, relieving the pressure off Ultear. He saw her deep intake of breath and nearly smiled but he held it back. "What are you curious about?"

"Seven years ago when I first met you; you asked about Zeref. You were looking for him. I cannot forget the amount of power I felt from you then; while in that boat, I thought of jumping away to avoid you, even if it meant death. You had also been attacked by Acnologia, and yet you survived without a scratch and just took off as if there was nothing wrong…You even attempted to talk to the dragon. My curiosity is in the relationship between you and those two."

Naruto placed both hands inside his pockets and motioned for Ultear to follow him.

Ultear had no other option.

If he wanted to kill her, he would do it and there wasnothingshe could do to escape. He was without doubt much stronger than what she imagined. She followed him to the rooftop of a building and then settled on his right. There was a cool breeze, but she could not enjoy it. Not with the fear inside of her heart.

"Why are you curious?"

"Acnologia is an enemy of humanity and he might possibly attack again. Zeref is also another cause for concern. Nobody has been able to see him since the incident at Tenrou Island years ago. The Magic Council has also been looking for him…"

"Not hard enough, but I don't really care of what the council thinks." Naruto said in a dismissive tone.

Just by that, there was now no doubt that this person held little opinion about the magic council. He didn't even appear to be afraid of it. But then again, when you have as much power as this person, what more did you need?

Perhaps it was arrogance, but she was not the one to judge or point out.

"But you are indeed right; what Acnologia wants is the destruction of all dragons, dragon slayers, and ultimately humans. Zeref will eventually do the same. But it might be possible that Acnologia is merely looking for a worthy opponent. I have so far refused to do so…" Naruto said in a measured tone.

"But if Acnologia were to attack now, there would be nothing any of you can do about it. The so-called dragon slayers are too weak to even wound a normal dragon."

"Wouldn't you try to defend this place?"

Naruto smiled. "I am a very selfish person…I don't do things that don't benefit me anymore. I used to be selfless, putting others first, but now, I am thinking about me. Of course, I might do something, but I am afraid of fighting that emotionless dragon because I know only one remains standing after the fight…" Naruto looked up for a moment before continuing.

"I may be lying there. I have no relations with Acnologia and I do know Zeref…Maybe a little more than I will ever tell anyone…You were once interested in Zeref because you sought the magic…To reverse time…Is that correct?"

"Yes…"

"You must show me the magic you wished to employ…"

"Why would I do that?"

"I can snap you neck right now and then go slit the throats of your other little friends before taking your corpse to someone who can read minds to extract that knowledge from you."

Ultear stared, speechless.

Naruto laughed. "We can make a trade; I will give you some information on what you need to fight and perhaps a couple of things you want to know… I might even say I am indebted to you if the magic becomes useful to me." Naruto explained in a light tone before asking. "What do you say?"

* * *

The ability of the Rinnegan to be able to manipulate all forms of chakra was something that Naruto craved at the moment. With it, he would have been able to manipulate magic without the many restrictions that he faced because there werethose kinds of laws.

His dreams would not even be far away because he would have the tool to be able to navigate through the complexity of magic principles.

Shaking his head, Naruto waved his right hand, glowing above the mage floating slightly above ground in front of him. The man was restrained, unable to speak or even move an inch of his body. He had never been the one to experiment on humans, but the magic he was using had hardly been perfected. But this was a low key mage, it was not going to cause problems.

A rune knight; magic council hounds called upon to investigate the suspected presence of Zeref. Now the council was interested in apprehending the dark wizard?

Well, it was not like it could do it even if it pleased.

Nothing learned; he had hoped there would be something interesting, but at least he had learned about two new faces that he could look at. The other was captain Lahar, and the other was someone curious.

His hand stopped glowing, and the man fell down on the ground with a light thud. After a moment, he shook his head and turned away from the alley. The night attracted hounds, and huge things. There was no telling what was going to happen. But with so many people within the capital to enjoy the spectacle of the magic games, there was not a lot of air to breathe.

"Why the sudden interest in what the magic council is doing here?"

"Well, there is definitely something happening within the capital. The Council is investigating the use of black magic by the royal family–and apparently, not for the first time. In any case, the presence of those people and the feeling I have given the movement of magic here does tell me there is a hidden agenda about these games. I don't like being ignorant of things."

Kurama shook his head. "Are you that bored with your life? If it had been your younger days, you would have certainly been happy to place yourself in the center of attention."

Naruto smiled. "The past, my friend. That is merely the past. Things change, for the better or worst. In any case, we should go investigate. The Eclipse gate is here anyway. I want to see it."

* * *

**Flashback**

Naruto laid under a tree, reading a book about elemental magic while the dragon he had come to know as Irene was lying a couple of feet away. He had come to know her as a hopeless waste of breath. Even Kurama had not been as hopeless as this woman when his father had strengthened the seal, cutting off his only way to escape after it had loosened over the years.

But this woman, this dragon that lived in seclusion was a sad monstrosity that spoke only about despair.

"So, queen of dragons!" Naruto called out.

He'd been still, chatting with Kurama and reading for the past couple of days. Irene had told him a bit of her story, and then it had been quiet after he had asked some questions, which she was not willing to answer. A frustrating being that only spoke when it was convenient. Well, at least, she wasn't trying to kill him. The last time he had decided to sleep, he'd been woken up by a huge hand suffocating him to death–for simply being careless in her presence.

At least she had not made the last attempt of trying to burn him alive.

"Are you going to continue living your miserable life in seclusion until you end your life-span?"

Irene opened her eyes and glanced at the human. No, he was not exactly human, was he? She had a feeling. He didn't feel like he was completely human. And she had seen something in the shadows when his eyes had flashed crimson. He hadn't told her anything about himself.

It had simply been 'Naruto' and that he had been wandering around, studying magic. She was curious about that, but ultimately, didn't care much about his story. He was going to disappear soon. And she would remain.

Why had she even bothered telling him anything?

"Are you going to continue being an annoyance?"

"Should you be calling me that when you are lonely as hell? Regardless of your opinion of me, you should at least be happy that there is someone who can speak to you…Perhaps even understand you."

"Understand?" Irene laughed.

It was a hollow laugh. Although he didn't feel like human, she had seen him eating human food. He had gone away to fish, sometimes hunting. There had been times she thought of eating him after he brought back meat and then roasted it in her presence.

She had no appetite for it.

She was dragon–she could not eat it.

Hearing this laugh, Naruto was reminded of his treacherous friend–Sasuke. The Uchiha had scolded him for once saying that they could understand each other. But how could he? Only the loneliness. He had never known a mother's love, or a father's love. He had never known to belong, to be loved by your sibling. How could he understand the pain of loss?

The thought made him sour–he was never going to know what it was like to have a mother, to have a sibling, to go back home with good news just to see the proud look on his mother's face. He'd only seen flashes but not enough to make lasting memories.

Naruto shook his head–wasn't he over this need to be loved?

He was a grown man!

"Maybe not." Naruto said a flat tone. "But I'm curious. How do we cross that bridge? I don't know anyone in this world. I have no friends, I am not in the history, although I have been around for a number of years."

"You keep saying 'this world' as if you are not of this world."

Naruto smiled, "maybe. Are you going to come up with solutions? We are both lonely people. We may as well do something about it. Perhaps when I depart from here, I can even find reason to come back to seek you out."

"So, you are going to leave."

"Yes; I left some dangerous things at my house, I'm afraid if left unattended for far too long, there might be a catastrophe that may expose my existence and destroy the progress I have made." Naruto said in a casual tone.

Irene stared for a moment before shaking her head. "I could teach you Dragon Slaying Magic but in return, you will keep me company…I also want to learn that magic you just displayed. Your unique ability to manipulate all basic elements is intriguing. Mages usually have one type of magic. But you don't have a type of magic do you? You can freely manipulate your magic in any way you please. If I teach you dragon slaying magic, it will give you a type of magic, but given that this magic is powerful, and affects your entire being, you might lose your ability to control other magic. However, dragon slaying magic does enable you to consume any form of magic–it does have its effects nevertheless, but you are able to consume any magic within your element."

"What are other side-effects? I assume if you teach me your magic, I will only be able to become your kind of dragon slayer. If you use fire, I will be able to use fire dragon slaying magic."

"There are none and yes."

"Is there any other way to learn the magic? I don't want to use your magic. It can't be that there is only one method of learning the magic. If there is none, we can learn. Because I want a particular form of magic…"

"There might be a way, but you'd need to be smart enough. Show me your most powerful magic and how advance it is, maybe we can talk about creating a different way. I am the one who created this dragon slaying magic after all."

Naruto thought there was something amiss but he was too keen to learn the magic and so he shrugged. Still, he did have a feeling that there were some consequences that Irene was not telling him about. He could tell. He could feel it. Lying to him was truly useless as he could sense negative emotions, but what he knew was that Irene had no intentions of seeing him die, at least not now.

And, so he nodded.

"I'm going to show you something. I have already shown you that I can manipulate all five basic elements. But as you have seen, the magic is not that powerful. If I was actually fighting someone with specialization in one particular magic, they would obviously have more advantage," the blond said as he held out his right hand.

In a puff of smoke, he summoned a pure black sword.

"The battle that nearly killed me, there was someone superior who had the ability to combine all the elements to create something deadly. I wanted to recreate it. I did, to some extent, but it isn't nearly as powerful and it is a little unstable, to the effect that despite my magic power, if I use it, it leaves me drained. This sword is not made of magic, but a different source of energy, that I now no longer possess."

"What can it do?"

"The idea was to be able to turn all living things into ashes, be able to negate all forms of magic. However, I failed at that. I _failed._ But there is a spell I can cast that is powerful enough to make a memory of many things. The sword itself is able to cut through almost anything." Naruto said pointing the sword at Irene.

"Have you ever been to the brink of death? Have you ever had the lower part of your body wiped out of existence? And you are left to wonder how you are still alive after getting over the shock of what just hit you?"

**End** **of** **Flashback**

* * *

"Do you think that we can actually learn something from this gate? It has been capable of ripping the very fabric of space and time…What we are most concerned about is time, but the gate does provide a practical example don't you think?"

As he asked the question, Naruto tilted his head to the left side, avoiding a spear that whizzed just inches away from his ear. He then twisted around, clockwise, while taking a single step forward. He was on the right side of his attacker, his left hand slamming back, and he chopped the mage on the back of his head.

He fell flat with a thud.

Behind him, there were a couple of more guards, lying on the cold floor within the dark passages underground of the royal castle. By now, the games had already started, but Naruto wasn't that much interested in watching–at least for now. Though, with each passing day, he was beginning to think they were truly interesting.

"Its magic is a little too advanced for you. Besides, this isn't purely magic, it involves some technological instruments that you know nothing about." Kurama said in a quiet tone.

"You're not helping." Naruto said, placing both hands inside his coat, as he ventured deep into the castle.

"While we may not be able to decipher it, we can at least learn more about the amount of magic it requires. They have spent a couple of years gathering magic for this gate to be operational."

"You have gathered enough magic." Kurama reminded Naruto. "But then again, even I don't know what you exactly plan on doing."

Naruto was silent. The operation he wanted to perform would require large reserves of magic that he may not even be able to wield at once. If that was the case, everything could end just as it began. He was not willing to fail–even on the first try. The cost of losing magic he has spent years collecting, learning to control and harvest, he could not permit that to go into smoke by trying half-baked plans.

If he was going to go all out, everything had to be near perfect. As strong willed as he was, Naruto wasn't too sure how he would handle the possibility of never regaining his humanity again. He hasn't failed at all with his plans. He still had hope. He hasn't even tried anything.

Perhaps he had failed to act on the whims of panic to avoid ending up hopeless like Irene.

"What I seek is into something specific–that woman, Ultear sought to reverse time, to the day she still had her mother. But that may even be much simpler than what I want to do." Naruto said in a serious tone. "The fact that she seems a bit hesitant to give me that knowledge is a little problematic. I thought I'd done things a little smoother…"

"Nothing says smooth like threatening to kill someone with a smile…"

"Maybe I should have done things a little differently." Naruto said with a slight shrug. "In such things, it is best to be nice. She holds knowledge that I need. I cannot get it from her head. She can lie to me if threatened, or even twist things to my foil. We must be nice people who can be trusted and not viewed as a threat." He added with a smile before coming to a halt.

The Eclipse Gate.

He had heard about it from the Heartfilia woman, and from Zeref. But he'd not thought it would be something so majestic. Zeref had truly outdone himself. Naruto entertained the thought of using the gate to go back 400 years back into the past as well, but he quickly snapped the thought before he did something crazy. Besides, there had to be the reason the royal family was even trying to activate the gate.

Naruto was interested in learning the reason–but as far as he was concerned, they needed all 12 zodiac keys to operate it.

Kurama appeared in a puff of smoke on Naruto's right shoulder. He quickly realized that the gate was absorbing magic. It was a dangerous place for him to be around. But, with Naruto unfettered, he could stay put.

"Then? How are you going to learn anything?"

"Well, we'd have to see it being used and study how magic reacts around it." Naruto said with a slight shrug. He then held out his right hand. He glanced behind when he sensed a handful of people.

"Well, this is a better way of getting the people in this little adventure…"

Kurama glanced at Naruto through the corner of his eyes, and then shook his head. Naruto had truly grown. He had truly grown. Sometimes he really could not tell what the blond was thinking. There was no doubt that the blond was going to try to do everything himself. The reason he even bothered 'fighting' the guards was to alert the people responsible that there was an intruder.

It was truly amazing just how the blond had changed over the years.

But then again, this was to be expected.

"Just don't get carried away." The Bijuu said silently before resting in a relaxed posture on Naruto's shoulder, with his eyes closed.

Naruto only smiled as he turned around to look at the people. He took a single step forward, just to watch the movements. The tall man in the armor was the strongest, and the green haired was the Princess. He stopped, and then turned around to face the eclipse gate, without care about those behind him, who could suddenly attack him.

"Aren't you being a little reckless?"

"At this distance, any magic that gets released will probably be absorbed by the gate." Naruto responded with a slight shrug. "Is that not right?" He asked the people behind him.

Arcadios stepped up, shielding Hisui from anything that may come.

"Who are you?" He demanded, but he knew, the blond was dangerously powerful.

A thing to observe was the fact that he hadn't even killed any of the guards. They were just knocked out with blows to the heads, and nothing more. And the fact that he was willing to just give him his back meant he knew what he was standing in front of…They were dealing with someone who knew things he shouldn't know.

He hadn't stumbled on this thing, he had come here.

How had he even known about it?

Was he from the magic council?

It would be troublesome if that was the case. The council was already investigating the royal family for the use of black magic.

Naruto turned around once more and then slowly walked towards the royal and her knight. His expressionless mask caused some tension that he tried hard not to express his joy in seeing. Anything could happen.

Someone could suddenly attack him. And, he could suddenly react in reflex and end up blowing things–though with the gate there, it was unlikely as it would be to just absorb the magic.

"Princess Hisui." Naruto directly addressed the green haired woman, being shielded by the Arcadios. "Are you the one responsible for the gate, or perhaps its current activity since its existence surpasses that of this place, and by far?"

As if to intercept him from making any moves, Arcadios took a step closer to him but Naruto still did not look at the man but rather, looked past him. What was this man of no consequence to him? He was not interested in any battle, but if the Princess was truly the one behind the project to activate the gate, then she was an intelligent woman who could be of some use to him.

There was no need to make enemies of these people, but of course, convincing them that he meant no _harm_ would not be so simple.

Arcadios stared at Naruto, trying to find his angle. By now, it did seem that the blond knew things. Yet, he didn't seem to have figured out that the Princess was behind the project. What to do in this situation? He was not going to be foolish to try to fight when it did seem that the blond had no intention whatsoever of fighting anyway.

"What do you want?" He was a little irked by the fact that he was being overlooked.

After his question, Naruto faced him with an expressionless mask that made him unconsciously reach to his sword.

The blond smiled.

"This is good." He said. "You stand in front of the Princess despite the challenge. One must always remain loyal to their liege regardless of the challenge. However, I have not come here for any fight with any of you. The guards were simply disabled because they were in the way. Ah, and I am not from the Magic Council."

"If you are not from the magic Council, who are you and what do you want? How do you even know about this?"

"Too many questions, but it isn't like I have any other choice. I could force my way here, but I wish not to bring ruin to this Kingdom's future ruler. The dragon king festivals were once held here, it is an important place that I wish to freely walk within." Naruto said to himself more than to the people before him. "What should we do, Kurama?"

"Be civil." the Bijuu said. "It is likely that these people are being misled by whoever led them to this. That woman, Anna, said there were no plans to use it again. And as the first person to have used the portal, I doubt she would be lying."

Naruto nodded. It would be amazing if someone were lying. This had nothing to do with the original mission that saw the gate being conceived with those dragons and Zeref. The black wizard hadn't even said anything. But then again, for it to be used once more, he was not needed.

Just the 12 keys and they were probably all gathered here.

"Naruto; I am merely a wandering mage and I know about this gate because Zeref told me about it. I know how it works, and that the Magic Council would probably point its weapons here if they found out it was being activated. In any case, I am merely curious. Is the Princess the one behind this?" The blond said with casualness.

"No." Arcadios said forcefully.

Naruto stopped smiling and then wagged his index finger. "I'm generally nice and pleasant, but I don't like it when you lie so bluntly. You are also wasting my time."

He smiled to himself. Wasn't he being dramatic? Since when has he ever worried about someone wasting his time?

"What happens when you have received the answers that you seek?" Princess Hisui questioned, as she stepped out from behind her guard.

"Nothing really." Naruto said with a wave of his right hand. "No matter the reasons, I won't do anything. I am merely curious about how the portal works. You do understand everything about it, no?"

Hisui stared at the blond for a long minute. She could not tell what he wanted or if he wanted to stop this project. Just because he said he didn't want to do anything but was simply curious didn't mean that it was the truth–he could be lying for all she knew. Still, how could she go about this situation? What was he of help to her plan to save this kingdom? If he could help, he was not needed, was he?

Could she just take the cautious method and just have him detained to avoid any unnecessary problems? It didn't seem fair, but he had already broken into the castle and defeated the guards.

"Ah, ah." Naruto suddenly said. "Things will not end well for you, Princess. It is unlikely to use magic in this place, given that we are close to the portal, but…"

Arcadios' eyes went wide; within the blink of an eye, the blond was standing between him and the Princess. The palm of his right hand right in her face and his stuff pointed at his back, locked on his heart. How had he moved so quickly?

He could not make a careless move because the Princess would be in danger. Why had he even permitted her to come this far when it had become true that there was an intruder? This was failure on his part.

Princess stood, trembling with eyes wide. He was not releasing any magic, but the look on his eyes, those inhuman eyes, they made her heart kick her rib-cage. She was afraid. Truly afraid of this man. No, was he even a man?

He appeared to be something much more than that.

She was not staring at a man but a beast. Within a second, the pressure that nearly brought her down to her knees, disappeared.

And she let loose of a long breath.

Naruto was smiling. But his stuff remained pointed at Arcadios. "You look like a very nice person, Princess...I can tell you are a kind person. There is no evil in your eyes. I see fear, a little girl with responsibility who is afraid. But it is not fear of your simple, death, what is it?"

"I'm afraid to die without saving this Kingdom from the despair that awaits it." Hisui said in a forceful tone.

Naruto tilted his head to the side. "What does that have to do with Eclipse?"

"It is to stop it."

Naruto blinked.

How the hell was a time portal going to stop the future that she was truly afraid of seeing?

How did she even know about it?

"Can you see the future?"

Hisui shook her head. "Someone did, someone from the future. Certain events that I was warned would occur have already happened. I didn't believe it nor had I made any decision on what I would do, but what I was told, the outcome of the matches has come true. I still want to observe more before I make a final decision."

Naruto frowned.

Someone from the future? What was happening? Had someone used the portal in the future to come here? What was happening in this world? He hadn't expected anything of this kind when he came here. He may even have to deviate from some of his plans because it did look like something big was going to happen.

Did he now want to know? Probably, but he could just watch what was happening before deciding to take part.

"I see." Naruto said quietly. "We will talk soon…"

And just like that, he was gone.

* * *

The grand games were a feast; they just showed just how different this world was compared to the shinobi world. There was that bit of evil, in this world, as was in the shinobi world, but this was nothing. These games were nothing compared to the Chunin exams where some killed just for the fun of it, and some plotted not so noble intentions.

This game was made just to see the strongest guild in Fiore with people watching with much fanfare. There was a bit of cruelty every now and then, but nothing disastrous.

Everything was tolerable…

Naruto blinked, his morals were becoming truly warped.

He needed to be careful.

'You are not thinking of doing something stupid, are you?'

Naruto raised an eye brow. He was simply observing the games, he had been doing so for the past couple of days. There were no incidents with Ultear and her team. There was no running in with the Magic Council and certainly nothing as yet that has made him wish he could enter the fray and trample some mages.

'What makes you think like that?'

'You are bored…'

'I cannot be bored watching the child of Irene fight. I will be honest, her fighting spirit is truly tremendous. She loves her teammates and is willing to go the extra mile for them. A little reckless and she appears to be too tight, but nothing I can't handle…'

From what he seen, anything that may seem to be a threat to her guild and friends, that woman was going to fight against.

If she viewed him as a threat, nothing would happen.

Hopefully, Makarov was not going to badmouth him because he did not need to use a firm hand on the old man.

'Besides, there is something that is going to happen with Eclipse. I have decided not to do anything that may drastically change things because I want to see what will happen.'

'Even when you know that woman is being lied to?'

'Yes.' Naruto said with a nod. 'I'm curious about what kind of event is going to take place in this city. There might be chaos, but nothing will go bad if Acnologia doesn't show up. Considering that I amused him a little last time around, he might be much more interested in stomping on me.'

'I wish he would…'

'We'd die…' Naruto pointed out.

'Not before you find a way to escape.' the Bijuu responded in a sarcastic tone.

Naruto shrugged and looked at the Fairy Tail group from where he sat.

He was sitting like a spectator with normal people, just watching and observing the games. The one moment he had nearly went out was to face Kagura's sword. It was powerful, but he wondered what the sword would be able to do in his hands.

But he'd held himself because he didn't want to interfere with Erza's battle.

* * *

Makarov tensed when he felt an unwelcome person appear behind them. He had simply appeared from thin air. When the others finally saw him, they tensed, but no one did anything.

"This is a nice view." Naruto said as he walked past the group, and stood by the balcony, leaning against the wall, as he observed the happenings.

"Ah, the First is also around."

Makarov frowned, and walked to stand beside the blond. He jumped on the wall to be able to see. "I was hoping you'd not show your face…"

Naruto glanced at the old man. That would only mean that he already knew that he was around the capital.

Naruto thought about it for a moment before shrugging. "You shouldn't show so much displeasure at my presence. You are even winning the games. I mean, the last matches are arriving…"

There was still Jura to think about, and Makarov was thinking that was going to be a troublesome battle. But it had nothing to do with Naruto. "Are you here because of that?"

"Yes, and I need to speak to you."

"About?"

"War with the Alvarez and Erza…" He then glanced at the old man for a moment before adding. "Don't be concerned, they can't hear us."

Makarov looked at his children and saw their confusion. He hadn't seen the blond cast any spell on them.

What sort of trick was it?

They were not speaking telepathically–so someone could read their lips.

He shook his head.

"But, I can hear you." Mavis said.

"In this case, you are not a matter because you are a ghost." The blond said in a flat tone. "I know about Erza…Where she comes from actually…"

Makarov glared at Naruto through the corner of his eye. That was something he didn't want to hear from Naruto. What did he want to do with it and why was he telling him about this? There was obviously something the blond wanted.

And, he had been praying and hoping he would not get drawn to any of his children.

"How do you know that?" He demanded.

"I knew her while she was in her mother's womb…That is to say, I _knew_ her mother." Naruto explained lightly. "She was very important to me and I want to try to build a relationship with Erza. And I would honestly appreciate it if you did not get in between…"

"So, that's why you came to our Guild last time around…"

"Why now?" Mavis asked.

"Irrelevant." Naruto said with a shrug. "A warning; the Empire might strike again, because they know your secret and want it. But you can rest easy, it's not something that will happen tomorrow. But it will… and if there is someone who is going to decimate their armies, it's me…" The blond spoke with a smile. He was not smiling about what he was trying to say but what he was seeing.

"Your grandson is incredibly skilled, Makarov."

Before Makarov could respond, the blond was already gone.

* * *

"We have a guest in the ring!" The announcer exclaimed loudly. "Is he associated with any guild?!"

There were boulders that had been created by Jura, some broken down by Makarov. But this was a good kind of field. He already knew just how strong the Wizard Saints were. Makarov was one. And their most powerful –Serena–had already joined the Alvarez Empire.

It would be incorrect to say that this continent was not blessed with powerful mages. Acnologia was created here. Zeref was from here and so were both Irene and the Wizard King. The problem was just about holding onto their talent.

But this was not merely for his entertainment–he wanted to show these people that what they thought to be real power, was not so much real power. There was more to it. There was much more power than what they could imagine.

A woman like Irene would certainly wipe the floor with these two. Her power could not be compared even to the so-called gods of Ishgar.

An unwarranted title.

It made a mockery to the true gods.

"You..." Laxus started in a low tone.

"You know him?" Jura asked, curiously looking at the blond before him.

He was almighty powerful, there was no doubt about that. His posture was just another thing. Those blank eyes that were not even staring at them spoke volumes.

"No." Laxus shook his head. "But I saw him some time ago…He was at my guild talking to the old man."

Naruto could feel the tension in the air, the loud noise from the arena. But no one really wanted to interfere. He was fine with anything. He held out his right hand and stared at it. For all these years living in hiding, and now he was opening himself like this. He was revealing himself to people, to this world, to the magic council.

They were going to know about him. They would draw interest and try to speak to him or maybe not.

Anything could happen.

Naruto took a single step forward and when he touched the ground, it silently trembled.

Another step, and it grew louder.

Jura's boulders started to crumble down, blue flames started to pour out, but they didn't produce heat. Not even a little, but the air around the atmosphere became thick. Gusts of winds slowly started to pick up, debris rose, and both Laxus and Jura jumped away from him.

'Stop.'

It was a voice inside his head, but Naruto knew this voice. 'Zeref… what are you doing here?'

'I can't let you show this power. I believe that is what you want them to see. There are monsters in this world, but they can't know that, not now.'

'I'm doing it.'

'If you do it, I'll kill all the spectators in the stadium, and everyone within this city. I might even summon Irene here to do it in her Dragon form…While keeping you busy. If we fight, Acnologia will no doubt show up and this place will get wiped out of existence…'

* * *

She was a ghost alright, but Mavis could feel the tremors, the very atmosphere was trembling at the level of power being displayed there. That was not a man you wanted to fight with. Now she understood why he appeared to be closer to Zeref. She understood why he had joined the Alvarez Empire and why Makarov was always wary of him.

When had she felt so much power before?

Acnologia was a monster, but it was understandable, he was a dragon, but this was a human before them.

Or perhaps he was not truly.

"Is this what you were afraid of?" She asked the third master.

Makarov nodded. "But, it is no way in the level of power he displayed when standing in front of the Spriggan," the old man stated through gritted teeth.

"Why has he suddenly just come to a standstill?"

He was taking a step and suddenly, he seemed to just some to a standstill like he had frozen. Mavis wanted to say something but he was likely in a conversation with someone, telepathically. And judging by his twisting expression, he was not having a pleasant conversation.

Suddenly, he just disappeared into thin air. Without a trace.

And everyone took a collective breath.

* * *

**End of chapter****I don't got much to say in this chapter... But thank you everyone for your reviews.****The Omnipresent Sage **


	6. Limits

Naruto stared at Zeref–who was sitting on the large skeletal remains of the many dragons who had died here during the Dragon King festivals. To be quite honest, he was a little bothered that Zeref had decided to come here, and bother him in his little fun. He would have already decimated both Laxus and Jura by now. A quick workout that would have left mouths gaping in shock, and the crowd at a stand-still before bursting out in excitement over what had just happened.

For them, as long as there was a good battle, they were going to cheer happily. But, perhaps the one person who would not be shocked, would be Makarov. He had already seen something he dared not speak about. He really needed to have a heart to heart conversation with the old man to sort out their issues.

But before that, there was this immortal before him.

Zeref liked to interfere in the business of others, he was in this position. Disappointing really. Did he fear Zeref?

No.

But, he knew that Acnologia would not waste time descending here if things became too interesting and he didn't want to bring Irene here. Not in her current state. Not when Erza was around. There were still many things that he needed to do before he was willing to risk it all. For him personally, Zeref could not touch him, and Naruto wasn't sure he cared too much to even bother risking himself to save those around.

It nevertheless would still be disappointing for masses to perish because of his actions.

Taking a deep breath, he took a couple of steps closer towards the Black Wizard.

"I have not seen you so displeased before." Zeref said with a small smile on his lips.

It was making him feel slightly giddy about what the blond might do in retaliation. He knew that Naruto was not simply going to back down like that and leave things aside. No, there would be some actions taken. And with the blond's power, it was tempting to fuel things further just to see what would happen and if he would be able to stop it from happening.

"I don't particularly like it when I am being threatened. Most of all, you are disturbing my fun." Naruto stated in a flat tone while holding out his right hand. "How many minutes do you think have passed now? That fight is going to draw to a close and I was hoping I would do something to make some impressions, but you disturbed things…There has to be a way to make up for this…"

As he was talking, the space just above his hand seemed to rip open, and a small orb of pure energy fell on the palm of his right hand.

Zeref looked at this curiously but before he could ask, Naruto was speaking again.

"You can judge the amount of magic in here, and I assume that you can imagine the scale of destruction this could cause if I set it off…" Naruto stated in a measured tone. "Now, let's play a guessing game, how many of these do you think I have around the Alvarez and within your palace?"

Zeref became silent. He honestly could not answer the question but if there was someone who could answer, it was Irene. But, was Naruto even telling the truth or just bluffing? If he had those things around the empire, the amount of destruction would be catastrophic. It would even be so bad that he may even have to postpone war plans for a couple of more years.

Still, Naruto was not that cruel. It was the reason that his kind of threat worked in the first place. What was this? If you threaten me, I can also do the same and mine will be much more devastating than you can imagine?

He smiled; well, this was not so much of a bad development.

He'd always been interested in seeing just how far Naruto was willing to push things. He was a good person, really. But there were times his thoughts were no different from his, or maybe those of Acnologia. Perhaps it came with the territory of being a powerful mage with few who can challenge you in terms of power.

"Why don't you tell me?"

"I don't give answers, if you can't guess right…" Naruto responded with a shrug. After a moment, he sealed the orb away and then continued speaking. "You may be immortal but your people are not. And trying to sense such things is impossible…"

Ridiculous.

He should just blow up the palace.

No, he would do it maybe next week. Maybe he could go now and do it to make Zeref know he was serious. He could not be reduced to making cheap threats. Of course, there was the thought that he didn't want to piss off Irene.

But, if pushed, he would lay siege to the empire. Naturally, this would force him into hiding. For his current mission, he could not afford that. Something may even happen to Erza while he was busy hiding.

"If they were there, they are probably hidden in a pocket dimensions." Zeref answered for Naruto. "I underestimated your knowledge and magic skills regarding space. It does appear that there are certain things that Irene has not told me…"

"That is if she knows…"

"I trust she understands you better." Zeref said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "Still, I didn't think your fear of Acnologia ran this deep. Then again, I have not seen you run from battle aside from when you must face him. There has been no one, not even the full might of the Spriggan has made you blink in fear and run, but when it comes to Acnologia, you run."

Naruto shrugged. "It is not necessarily my fear of him but the aftermath of a battle with him. I have dreams Zeref, and I want to see them come true. The difference between you and Acnologia is that you are immortal and although he has the fire power, he cannot kill you. It would probably be possible for Acnologia to kill me but we both have enough fire power to turn Ishgar into a wasteland. I do not want that."

"At least not now." Zeref added. "I will not be making such threats again. And there will be no hostilities until such a time we have war. That is my promise to you."

Naruto stared for a long minute before nodding. "I'm not against that but if there are many more actions like this, I will be urged to make a stand. You can't just come and threaten me like that. In fact, I'm a little too annoyed right now, I feel like feeding you something that will blow you up into pieces and then watch you regenerate. But threats are not really my thing and it sometimes gets a little annoying when all you do is make threats without taking action…"

There was no threat under the tone, but something about it didn't make Zeref comfortable.

Naruto was at times whimsical. He did things just because they were there. He hardly took things too serious. He was not that prideful that he would walk with a chest puffed up, cursing everyone and anyone who so much as looked at him the wrong way or not show the respect that he deserved.

He was a reserved person who was not quick to resort to violence of mass destruction, although he was capable of switching into that mode within seconds. He had seen that in the formation of the Empire.

"You're not going to do anything against the Empire, are you?"

"Not at all." Naruto said with a slight shrug. Irene was still mad at him for leaving her. He didn't want to make things worse or there may never be reconciliation with her.

"But I will be watching you…"

This did give him the idea. He could as well go to collect to the book of END. That would make things interesting if the book was in his hands. He smiled at the thought. He would basically, have Natsu's life in his hands.

There was no doubt, not even a whisker; Zeref's only wish was to die by the hands of his younger brother.

* * *

Naruto had said he must not do anything but Makarov wasn't about to allow one of his children to walk into something she would not be able to escape. Compared to Naruto, Ezra was just a child. Makarov was even starting to question just how old Naruto was. He didn't know anything about the blond. At least with the other Spriggan, he could find out some details about their backgrounds, but with Naruto, there was nothing.

There was also the fact that he didn't know the blond's intentions. He had left the Alvarez, and untouched, but there was surely something that he was looking for. He hoped that Erza was not the answer. There had to be something else.

Was he even telling the truth when he said he knew about Erza's parents?

Makarov could not tell. He didn't even want to think too deeply about it. But what was certain was that Naruto was a dangerous person. And he didn't want to allow him to get close, lest he was unable to control things. Erza was a big girl. Surely, if it was a game of manipulation, she could handle it. Still, he worried for her. He worried for everyone.

Especially since it seemed that Naruto was well aware of Fairy Tail's secret.

"Has Naruto appeared before you?" Makarov asked Erza with a curious glance.

The First Master was sitting beside him. The others were making their celebratory noise in the background within the hall. They were still within the capital. A few more things needed to be done before they could return home in victory.

"No." Erza said with a slight shake of her head. She looked back at him curiously. "Is he looking for me?"

She wondered. She didn't know the man. She didn't know about him. Why would he be looking for her?

Makarov wondered if he should tell her about the fact that Naruto said he knew he about her parents. The old man shook his head. No, he would not go that far.

"Yes…" He said.

It would have been a different scenario if the blond had already spoken to her.

"I want you to be careful when you speak to him. He is far more powerful than you can imagine, Erza. I'm not saying you should fear him, I'm saying you should always be cautious."

Ezra nodded with a bit of confusion but Makarov didn't clear it.

After she was gone, he released a sigh and stared into the empty space ahead of him. He then smiled. Fear was a powerful thing. It made you do stupid things. But he was right to be wary of Naruto. What he saw that day, the look in those eyes. He had even wondered if the blond was human. He had not spoken in a human tone.

That had been a beast, a monster.

He was not wrong to put the blond equally in the same league as Acnologia. The only difference was that the dragon of apocalypse didn't hide who he was. Naruto wore a colorful mask. He hid his intentions behind a smile.

It just made him a lot more dangerous.

"Why are you so wary of Naruto?" Mavis asked quietly.

As far as she has seen, Naruto was not a bad person. She had her reservations but she did not have the same fears as Makarov. In fact, if he wanted to join the guild, she would not hesitate give him permission.

Makarov held out his right hand and then created a fist, clenching tightly. They said the Four Gods of Ishgar were _goda_ because of their power, hence their titles, but what about Naruto? If they saw those four as Gods, what about the Spriggan?

He feared fighting them.

He truly wished the day would never come. But Naruto had said it was going to come. Perhaps that was why he decided to cut from the empire. If he hadn't been the one to stop them from the last time, he would have a hard time believing that Naruto had even cut ties with the Empire.

"When I first met him, he had looked so normal, and colorful. He held a conversation with me about what I wanted and if it was my wish to avoid the war. He joked that he didn't want it and would not be against killing all but two of his comrades. He didn't tell me who the two were, but I thought he was joking because he wasn't as powerful as the others. The empire's army was already marching, but the Spriggan had remained behind. I was there, he stood in front of them, a totally different person from the one I met. He spoke about completely wiping out the forces that had already departed. I knew he was serious. Though, some of his 'friends' didn't think he was. They seemed to think that he was not in favor of mindless killing, but he said it was not mindless. To prove he was serious, he powered up, displaying power that left me trembling… In just one attack, a simple wave, the ground was shaking, while he loudly contemplated wiping out thousands to prove his point…"

He smiled.

"Would you believe it? He is a dragon slayer like Acnologia."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It is just something the Prime Minister slipped, and I noticed, he is similar to Acnologia. It is something he apparently hides, because the others admitted to not having seen his dragon slaying powers before. Ask him, he will probably deny it. I often wondered how he came to that form. Was he created by Zeref? Did he also drink the blood of other dragons? How old is he? I have had so many questions which no one can answer."

Mavis stared blankly. "What I know is that he has a closer relationship with Zeref… I fear it was Zeref who stopped him from fighting. But, perhaps you are right about being wary. He has so far refused to entertain me, saying he cannot speak to someone he cannot see."

But that still didn't give her something to be of concern. What was obvious was that if they ever had to go against the Empire and as he has confirmed, he was going to be on their side. He may not be an ally, but he was going to be on their side. He did it before and he would do it again.

"He nevertheless doesn't seem like a bad person…Though, his morals can still be called into question…"

"I don't think he is a person who cares about right and wrong."

* * *

Ultear stared at what she could only explain as runes. It was a small wall of arrays that Naruto was moving in the space in front of him. He was moving it with his staff changing some symbols, removing some and adding some. She could not understand the language. They were foreign to her.

Jellal could use runes, but she had never seen anything as complicated as this before. She then turned to him, and looked around to see if there was anyone possibly watching them. Once she was satisfied, she settled down a bit closer to him at the rooftop of a tall building.

"Magic has rules…You cannot break such rules without suffering the consequences. Perhaps it is a way to ensure that such a power is not abused. Say for example, there is no magic that returns the dead to life. Or perhaps it is there, but just something that cannot be practiced without sacrifices. There is a balance to nature. The rules of magic were perhaps designed to maintain the balance." Naruto said, staring at the seal in front of him.

"Dragon Slaying magic is called lost today, as with your magic. But the former, is truly powerful. Technically, the Dragon Slayer can use any magic…But the drawback is that you can only use one at a time, if it is not your magic, god Serena had the perfect idea in that he utilizes different lacrimas to be able to use different magic. But you'd need to be strong enough to even hold that. Nevertheless, the problem with artificial dragon slayers is that they cannot be compared to a true Dragon Slayer. In that you can point to Acnologia…"

There was a lot in what the blond stated. But from what he was trying to say, Ultear got that he wanted to break down the rules or at least find a way to bypass them. Perhaps the magic being worked in front of him was for this purpose.

"So you do know more about Acnologia after all."

"I don't think I ever claimed not to know." Naruto said, glancing at Ultear at the corner of his eyes.

He looked back to his seal as he continued.

"Acnologia was human, like everyone…But he did some things that forced what is perhaps a natural evolution for all Dragon Slayers."

"Are you a Dragon Slayer?"

Naruto glanced at Ultear for a moment. "Your Magic is truly curious. At least the time reversal part. But having been alive for as long as I have been, I have come to know that something of this magnitude cannot be done without sacrifices. I mean, not someone who has been possessed by the god of time can do such a thing. From what I have seen them do is simply stop time, but nothing super beyond that.

"Your theory to reverse time to the early childhood was breathtaking…Of course, it smacks of desperation. I never considered you to be so sad and desperate. But, what can you say? There are different kinds of people living in this world." He paused shaking his head.

"Deliver what is remaining and I will disappear for a bit to practice this magic."

"You still haven't given everything…" Ultear said, trying not to be forceful.

Once more, Naruto's eyes turned to her, but this time, he was staring. "I guess I have not." He said with a sigh.

"You want to know, who are the real enemies? You already know one; that is Acnologia. But you need not concern yourself with him. Such concern would be pointless because you can't even get him recognize your existence. The Alvarez Empire will attack one day, and but before they do, the magic council will probably be dysfunctional. There is no doubt that weapons of the Council could derail things, and as such, they are the likely targets. Still, none of you, can actually fight them. At least at your current level. My suggestion, train until you sweat blood."

"It sounds like there is real danger ahead." Jellal said, slowly walking toward Naruto and Ultear with Meredy. He didn't sit down, but remained standing behind the blond. "I have always known that they were powerful, but on that level. Compared to you, how powerful are they?"

Naruto smiled. "Let me say this…god Serena was Ishgar's most powerful mage, but when he arrived at the Alvarez, I only saw him as just another mage…He is powerful, but not that powerful. Yet, when facing his fellow gods, he'd probably win, three against one."

Naruto executed hand seals, erasing the seal he was trying to work on.

"We still don't know just how much we would struggle against you. Part of your agreement with Ultear was helping in her fight. I know we are not in any position to make requests, but it would truly help us if you could fight with us, just so we know what we are up against. Being told someone is powerful and actually facing him in battle are actually two different things." Jellal said.

"Are you sure about that?" Meredy asked cautiously.

Jellal nodded. "We don't have anything to lose…But everything to gain…"

"That is if he doesn't decide to kill us…"

Naruto smiled, turning to Meredy.

She took a slight step backwards.

"I usually don't make threats to kill people. But know that if I want you dead, you will surely _die_. I have no intentions of such…And I was a little annoyed when my fun was disturbed the other day…I could use some punching bags. I'll call you later on during the day. Or tomorrow, I have someone to see before that…"

* * *

Erza certainly felt like her mother.

There was no mistaking her magical presence. It made him wish he had seen Irene at her glorious days. She must have surely been a breathtaking queen. Well, he would make her relive those days and if he had to create a kingdom for her to reign as Queen, he would do it. He would do most things for her. But harming Erza was something that he would not accept.

This was her child, proof that she was once human. Despite being a dragon, she gave birth to this innocent human.

A human child with a heart pounding with all feelings.

What was he going to do? Should he just go to her and threaten to wipe out everyone close to her just to get her attention? She would probably attack him, but he could laugh it off before disabling her. She was not the only one who needed to understand that sometimes, even when you wanted to protect something, gave it all your best, there were just some mountains that could not be toppled.

A happy ending was not guaranteed in every situation.

Sometimes the evil man won.

Sometimes he lost.

It simply depended on who was stronger.

His show at the games would have shown to her what power was, but he could still do it here. Nodding to himself, Naruto looked around for a moment. There were other people around, not just the fairies. Even the King and the Princess. They were all present, celebrating Fairy Tail's victory in the games. Even the king of his country had to know about what was ahead.

Naruto took out his staff, and then tapped on the floor twice before sighing; he was complicating things a little.

He could just request to see her strength by engaging her in a battle.

If she refused, he could just force her. Beat her up and then heal her. It would have been a lessoned she learned. Or he could come up with something _clever._

* * *

It was supposed to be a night where they all had to celebrate for putting Fairy Tail back to where it belonged as the as the top Guild in Fiore. But, Erza felt weary. She felt as though there was something heavily weighing her down. Natsu and Happy were busy looking for Lucy, looking worried for her safety. Even Wendy was also missing. They were also supposed to be here. She could not really celebrate while others were not present.

But, more pressing were the eyes that stared at her without shame. She didn't want to look. For some reason, Erza felt nervous. Her master had been nervous as hell when talking to her about the issue of the eyes staring at her needing to talk to her.

"Someone is surely interested in you." Mira said to Erza with a smile on her lips.

The boys always had a thing for Erza–especially since she didn't seem to be aware of the effect she had on them when she was wearing revealing clothes. However, the look Naruto was giving her was much more than that.

Naturally, Erza could not tell the difference between a lustful, romantic or a normal stare.

How nice it was to be her; to be so oblivious. She would have been a shameless person if she was aware of everything and just rather enjoyed it.

But, Mira knew Erza quite well.

"Who?"

Mira raised an eye brow, wondering if Erza was being Erza or…

She shook her head but before she could say anything, there was a presence between them. She smiled when he looked directly at her.

"Mirajane Strauss, always a pleasure…"

His tone was a little sly, the smile on his lips was much wider than she had seen before. Almost playful. Was this just another side to him? He had looked so stern and serious at the stadium, and just downright frightening. Yet, she could not sense that overwhelming power.

There was truly was something different. The person before her was truly normal, nothing like the monster she had seen the other day.

"You are becoming a frequent guest…" Mira said, smiling in kind.

"Guests are invited…Say it like it is…An intruder." Naruto responded with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "But if I get to see such a person, I wouldn't mind intruding every now and then…"

"Erza you mean?"

Naruto shook his head, wagging his index finger in front of Mira. He then pointed it straight at her, as he responded. "No; you. Perhaps after all this, I'll descend to Fairy Tail and we could sit together and enjoy a little meal. I'd like to hear more about your marvelous stories, when you were still active…"

He tilted his head to the side.

"Of course, unless you have a problem with that…"

Mira said nothing.

But Naruto didn't mind it. "I guess I'll see you." But before she could walk away, he suddenly grabbed her. Holding her in a firm lock.

Mira sensed it. The murderous intent. It came out of nowhere. Her body tensed. She couldn't even move with him holding her. Her eyes glanced around, everyone seemed to be on edge. This was serious.

"How far are you willing to save those you care about, Erza?" Naruto asked in a deathly cold tone that made her feel a chill down her spine.

She stared at him, handing gripping her sword. "Release her." She demanded.

Naruto shook his head. "I have observed you. To save friends, you fight anyone. You do anything. To save this one, what are you willing to do. No, first of all, are you even able to save her?"

This was not happening right? Mira was a sister. And here she was, being held hostage by this person. Everyone was on edge, wanting to jump in but could she even do that with Mira there? He could harm her if they made any move. What made her frown deeply was the cold look, the intense glare of his eyes. Looking at them, she saw flashes of Mira's throat being slit. It scared her.

"What do you want?" She asked through gritted teeth.

"How far?"

"At the cost of my own life!"

"Selfless. What a bravo character from one who loves… and I have seen that you can do that," he said, holding out his hands. He whispered some words, pointing a finger at Erza. He then grabbed Mira by her head and then twisted her neck. Dropped her to the ground, dead.

Someone shouted, lunging at him, but he raised his staff, shooting a red beam that went through their head. They too, dropped to the floor.

Erza felt something in her explode. How could he? A flash of all the memories she had with Mira, gone, just like that. What was Lissana going to say to her? Her friend, dead. Killed by this man whom she didn't even know. Was this why he wanted her to meet her? Her master had warned her. To be wary. But Mira. She gritted her teeth. Angry. She re-equipped.

But he was there, hovering over her like a mountain. He took steps toward her. His immense presene freezing her. But she was shaking. Shaking because she was trying to break off his hold. He placed two fingers on her chest.

"I killed her. You could do nothing. Because you are not strong enough. Know your limits, Erza. If you continue to be reckless, your friends will die. As she did," he said, smiling. "You know what, even you can join her. You would have known you were weak and rather chose to run to save your life."

"And abandon my frind?!"

"Yes: at least you would have had the chance to live. To see their dreams coming alive. Rather than needlessly dying!" He was harsh. Her knees trembled. She fell down. "Die Erza."

Closed saw a white light blind her. But when she opened her eyes, Naruto was standing right there, Mira with him. What had just happened? No one was dead. She blinked. What had she seen?

"Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto introduced himself. He smiled, apologetically. "You might hate me for that… but I hope you learned something important. My role is to see your continued existence… enough that you may get to meet someone important to me… and perhaps they too may become important to them. We will talk again, soon. This time, spar with me…"

* * *

What was with this castle that there was always a battle of some kind that was occurring? The King was supposed to be here…Couldn't they provide better security? Then again, unlike within the Alvarez Empire, things in Ishgar were dictated by the legal guilds and the magic Council.

Tyranny is the thought that came to mind when he thought of the Council. Perhaps Ultear had done people a favor. Then again, nothing much had changed. It was the power that corrupted. Some people, were just not meant to be with power.

He didn't even figure out why the Council always had to be with members who were old, no magic power at present to fight, but trigger happy hands.

Naruto shook his head.

Why was he thinking about that at this time?

In front of him…Natsu, and the girl he recognized as Wendy, the other dragon slayer were fighting someone. He'd managed to make out that Lucy was missing when he visited the grouping of Fairy Tail mages. She was not around. But he understood why. She was a holder of the Zodiac keys. They were needed to open Eclipse.

He smiled.

Enough magic had been gathered then.

He was finally going to see the other world.

'Don't get too excited.' Kurama warned. 'Just be mindful that if things go wrong, Acnologia could appear. And with that girl around, you really don't want to leave him be.'

'What do you mean?'

'That girl has shown clear dedication to her friends…She calls them family. She'll die to protect them. And if you decide to allow this place be destroyed while you run off with her, do you think she will ever forgive you?'

Naruto frowned deeply. Probably not. Not ever. He hoped that Erza was not the one who would say she didn't care if Irene was her mother. An enemy is an enemy. But then again, considering what he has already seen, that could be the case.

He smiled.

'You have become a little more human, Kurama.'

The Bijuu snorted.

'I am just thinking about if you fail at it, you are going to be miserable,' he paused. 'Though, I wonder if you are even of capable of having such feelings, these days. Your transformations have not done any good on your humanity. And the fact that you have many years to live has truly affected how you think.'

'Can't we just admit that I have changed?'

'I'm not denying that, but you are only clinging onto your humanity. And if you continue like this, even if you eventually get it, you might only become human in flesh, but your mind remains the same. And you probably won't enjoy the life you hope you will enjoy.'

'Carrier of bad news.' Naruto said with a slight shake of his head. 'But not necessarily false. Perhaps we might do things a little differently. If Acnologia comes, we will fight. We will protect Erza and those she values, to be in her good graces. Maybe she might not feel resentment towards her mother for abandoning her.'

* * *

Wendy froze, when she sensed this presence that seemed to paralyze just every part of her body into absolute submission. Again, he was here. Natsu was shouting at future Rogue, but she could hear his slow powerful footsteps. He was moving toward her. Them. What was he doing here? Admittedly, his presence, felt a little watered down. But the potent magic was still the same. A dragon slayer. There was no doubt. He might not feel like it at times, but this man was a dragon slayer. But he was certainly not like them. He felt more like a dragon. Powerfully so. She was even afraid to look at him. His presence was so dominating, so much so that she forgot about the enemy who'd made them lose Lucy to royal guards.

"777," The year all Dragons appeared. He stated that year. Wendy knew he was talking to her. His words, casual, as if he did not see what was happening around, were powerful enough to make everyone turn to him.

"I've always walked among humans using a clone to avoid such reactions. Mortals tend to fear overwhelming power." Naruto stated, stopping behind Wendy.

He smiled. Putting a hand on her shoulder. Her fear disappeared.

"Then again, no matter, when the power of the Kyubi was released, it always seemed to put people on edge. And not just those in the Hidden Leaf. I possess that power freely. It should not be a surprise. Still, it does bother me a little. Being among the Spriggan helped hide this."

He was now no longer talking to her, but to himself. So absent minded. Even rogue seemed to be annoyed by it. But Wendy was glad for his touch. She was no longer afraid. No longer on edge. The moment he'd touched her, she'd come to know, he was not her enemy.

"Who are you?" Rogue demanded.

He didn't know. Even what happened in the stadium that day had not been something that occurred in the future.

There was something wrong with this picture.

Naruto stepped away from Wendy and then stopped just in front of Natsu. "Now, this is something you don't see every day. You are certainly not from the parallel world. And not the dragon slayer I saw in the games, so, who are you?"

"You are in the way!" Natsu shouted. "That bastard had Lucy taken away from us! And he killed the Lucy from the future."

Couldn't Natsu keep his mouth shut just for a moment?

Rogue shook his head.

The Dragon slayer was not capable of that. But his big mouth had just answered Naruto's question. He could have done without him knowing anything.

If they got into battle now, it would not be good for him.

Naruto turned to face Natsu. "Worried much about your girlfriend."

It sounded like a question but it was not. Before Natsu could say anything, Naruto was standing behind him, right hand held out.

"You are truly much like me. Years ago in a world far away. You do not listen to anyone. You charge head on with your emotions on your face." Naruto said, shaking his head. "Children ought to grow…But this is not the time to nurture you. I want to have a civil conversation with that man…If he wants it…"

"Wha…" Natsu did not finish.

He fell down on his face.

Happy cried over to his friend.

Naruto hadn't realized the cat was there until now.

Seeing the cat, worried over his friend. Naruto did not feel anything. He smiled–a bit bitterly. How had things come to this point? Perhaps it was the many years he has lived.

"He is okay." He said, looking over to Rogue. "Now then… So, you are?"

"I don't have to discuss that with you…" Rogue said. "But I worry about who you are and your intentions."

Naruto tilted his head to the side, and then started to walk toward Rogue. The man backed away, causing Naruto's smile to widen. "I merely wish to confirm your story. Natsu said something about future Lucy. You killed her. And are stopping them from getting to the present Lucy. I assume she has been captured by the Princess for her keys to open the eclipse. But for what end? By the looks of things, Lucy is a good girl. The Heartfilia have always been on the good side of history. Which means, you are most likely after bad things, at first glance that is."

"If I am?"

"Then you will ultimately have to die. The question is only when."

"I can't be involved in a battle with you, not now at least…" Rogue said, disappearing into the shadows.

Naruto could have stopped it but he chose against it. When he turned around, Natsu was in the air, right in his face, driving a fist, engulfed by flames toward his face. Naruto blinked, but did not bother to dodge it. He hadn't been expecting it even.

He expected Natsu to be out cold.

When the punch connected with his face, his eyes were focused on Wendy.

An enchanter.

This was interesting.

Natsu's punch did nothing.

And Naruto responded by lifting his right hand, grabbing the outstretched arm, and without wasting effort, he flung Natsu straight into a wall on their right. The dragon slayer burst through it with a rumble, getting smashed and buried in the rubble.

Naruto took out his staff and pointed it toward the rubble without even looking.

But before he could do anything, Happy stood in his path, glaring at him.

Naruto smiled and returned his staff to its place. "Greater love hath no man than this; that he may lay his love for a friend…It does have quite a nice ring to it. But rest assured, I was merely going to stop him from attacking me…I have no intentions of exchanging blows with a mindless child." He said, turning to Wendy.

"Enchantments…You were raised by the Sky dragon…I am a wind user myself. Though, not to the same extent as you. It seems my abilities to control wind has been diminished greatly by the nature of my magic."

"D-dragon slaying magic…"

Naruto smiled. "Yes…This magic is rather jealous."

But he was going to find a way to rid of its jealousy. He glanced at the wall, Natsu was getting up. He was going to attack him again. He sighed. A child that did not listen. He bent down to Wendy, smiled, ruffling up her hair.

"A very pure child… so warm, innocent and polite, yet with a strong will."

After saying that, he was gone.

"I think he likes you." Carla said, exchanging a meaningful look with Wendy. "Whether it is a good thing or a bad thing remains to be seen."

* * *

Innocent or not innocent, bad things happen. Despair did not pick sides. Fortune was on some people's side. Naruto wanted to dismiss the idea was completely ridiculous but look at Sakura. Pampered childhood, stupid and worthless as a genin. But, here comes Tsunade, she becomes a little better. Not totally useless, but still useless.

But there had been injustice over her actions towards him who was damned and condemned by life. Yet, things went well for her. She probably lived a good life after the war. He died. Miserable. Without anything.

Maybe a war hero.

But there was no enjoying that status.

He died.

Lonely.

Bitter.

And without much to look at.

It was because life was not fair. Nothing was fair. For some cursed people, they had to make their own luck. They had to fight tooth and nail to get things done. As if it was some cruel twist of faith, he too, was once again, trapped in a miserable life. He was alive. But just barely. Just barely clinging onto what was left of his humanity.

Ultear had been cruel.

She destroyed lives.

Jellal as well.

Meredy as well.

A little sad part of him that felt nothing but contempt for her nature and he thought once more of grabbing her by her throat and just watch the lights flicker off her eyes. He was not that cruel. But he was not that nice either. His morals were deeply conflicted. But at least, these people sought to correct things. They sought to change things even if no one would acknowledge them.

It was commendable. Perhaps that was why he didn't hate them and was willing to assist them.

He was no crime fighter. He'd lived that life. It was good. He lived with a clear conscious. But his people died. It was pain. This world. He could live with indifference. Perhaps things would change. He was not entirely living anyway. How could he live when he was not really human.

He missed hunger. The smell of ramen. The taste of those noodles. He missed sleeping every night. He missed the thought that he could die any moment. He truly missed the raw feelings that came with being human.

Now, he was just a monster. That was why he had to succeed. For both him and Irene. At least, he would have something and someone waiting for him at the end of the tunnel.

"Is everything okay?" Jellal asked, curiously.

Since arriving, Naruto had said nothing. He'd just fallen into a trance, staring at nothing.

Naruto's eyes glanced at Jellal and then Ultear for a moment. A beautiful woman. He could admit that much. But there was no woman quite like Irene.

Ah, he missed her dearly.

He looked back at Jellal. "What is your relationship with Erza?"

Why had he neglected this?

The question seemed to catch Jellal off-guard. He staggered a bit before staring, curiously. "What?"

"I think he likes her but won't admit it." Ultear said offhandedly. "They are childhood friends. They were together at the tower. He still checks on her from afar."

Naruto raised an eye brow. "So, you know about her…"

He wanted to know her from first-hand experience. Not cheat by asking someone else.

"We will have to do this at some time. But there is something dangerous that is about to happen in the capital. And I don't want to miss it."

"How can it be dangerous when you are smiling?"

"I did not specify to whom the danger will be." Naruto said, shrugging. "It will be fine. But I thought you should know: I met someone not from this time. Someone who traveled through Eclipse. He is plotting something, using the Princess."

"If it is bad, why are you not stopping it?"

"Why? It is not my role. Besides, if it is that bad, it will be a great experience for the disaster that is ahead." Naruto said.

"You should take your positions. I will be watching you."

* * *

Kurama sat on Naruto's shoulder, looking at the crowded place where the gate was. There were so many guards. Something of a squabble had started. But like good observers, they had merely just sat there and watched. The amount of magic needed to operate the portal was massive. No doubt, the gate did not work in the way Hisui thought it did.

Naruto could have stopped it. But he was a lot more interested in seeing the flow of magic, the amount of magic required to open it and what would come out of it. What was certain was that it was going to go horribly wrong for Princess Hisui.

"We have not collected no way enough magic to compare to what is needed to use this thing." Kurama admitted.

Time magic would need a lot more magic than they had. If they attempted things without an excess amount of Magic, Naruto would be drained entirely while trying. He might die or not. Anything could happen.

"They gathered the magic for seven long years, from battles happening around the capital…And the portal is equipped to be able to handle this much magic…"

"And you are not."

"I have limits. We will have to use our home to create a structure that will hold the magic we have thus far collected and store it away in a place where it can be easily accessible. We create a seal…Two seals actually. There is that one that Tsunade created. And an external one. But we link both seals to be capable to supply magic to the other."

Kurama raised an eye brow. "Acnologia destroyed your home."

"The observation place…" Naruto said with a shrug. "But, the basement is still intact. It can't be destroyed. I went through hard lengths to secure it. But this simply means that the magic we will use can only be employed while at that place. But then again, I only want to use it for a single purpose."

"Why time though?"

"We are not competent enough to do the things Zeref did. If we could, we would create an ethereal body for you and find way to separate you from me since we are all tangled up. But as we have learned, that magic carries heavy penalties that we cannot afford. Time effects everything. Time moves the world. Everything moves because of time. You stop time, you stop the world from moving. There is a point in time where you and I were separated. We will move to go back to that point…Without of course, affecting space. Because if we touch space, it could distort things."

Naruto stood up, seeing things starting to happen.

* * *

It started with giant footsteps. When she heard those, Hisui knew things were not moving according to plan. Her father was around. The guards were around. And the mages she'd pulled into her plan. A plan to save this Kingdom–at least she'd thought this much. She had been convinced after all.

But now, hearing those giant footsteps, they shook the very ground she stood at. Lucy's cries that the gate must be closed didn't help things.

A low growl followed.

Her eyes became dead.

A dragon appeared out of the gate.

Hisui fell to her knees. She had been wrong. This was not what she was told would happen. This was not what she wanted. She didn't want dragons to appear from the gate. She didn't want this. This was not what she had planned. The expressions of fear from everyone else shook her. There could only be one thing running through their minds. Dread. This turned into despair when the dragon released a shockwave. More followed.

Was this the end?

Had she doomed her kingdom?

* * *

End of chapter

A shout out to Freestyle for helping me edit and structure this thing.

This is getting hard to write. at least this part. I should complete it in the next chapter and then some chaos in thr Alvarez as payback for Zeref... or maye not.

The Omnipresent Sage


	7. Chapter 7

Naruto could not help himself but grin: the shocks; the power resonating from the gate; the roars; the sound of despair – it filled him up like a drug. His grin turned mad with excitement. He hadn't been this excited in a long time. Of course, he could not go loose in his dragon form, he didn't want to end up destroying this place. But what could Rogue hope to achieve except for pure destruction? Perhaps that was the goal. There were people in this world who lived for the simple minded purpose of wreaking havoc and giving rise to despair.

This turned him to the poor child of a princess. This was her fault; she had allowed herself to be fooled. She had summoned the dragons, but, alas, they have now turned on her. Her ignorance to Rogue's treacherous intentions could not be excused. She bet her life on the words of a man whose past was unknown to her. And this was the result.

Because of her bet, there was only one thing that was going to occur here and that was destruction. Sadly, none of the Dragon Slayers of this time had any real power to defeat these dragons – they were weak. Criminally, they had been taught and trained by powerful dragons. So, how could they be so pathetically weak and lacking in raw power that is the hallmark of all dragons?

It truly made a mockery of the strength of dragon slayer magic. The magic was created solely to slay dragons but these children held no such power. This criminal injustice against the magic made him a little angry, especially since they were taught by dragons. He would show them. At least what a real dragon slayer could do. It has been such a long time since he has had to pound something hard; to release destructive magic knowing it would not destroy the opponent with a simple blow.

He glanced down, the building he stood on was crumbling.

"You're getting way too excited," Kurama cautioned him.

Perhaps. For him to start unconsciously leaking his magic to this extent was dangerous. He hoped Acnologia did not decide to come here – it would just ruin all the fun. He needed to pound some dragon flesh today before heading out to cause problems elsewhere.

"I do have reasons."

"Don't be excessive," Kurama paused before adding. "We don't want you attracting the Magic Council's attention that they start thinking you are a threat."

"It's not like the Council has the mages to beat me."

"Arrogance will be your downfall, Naruto. Don't underestimate humans," the Bijuu said firmly.

Naruto was silent for a couple of moments. He then shrugged. "I am no longer human? Even if I am no longer the mortal I once was, I lived with humans, so I know how they think and just how much of a danger they can be."

Arrogance had seen to the pitiful undoing of many powerful men. Orochimaru lost his ability to use Ninjutsu because he'd believed he could defeat the Leaf; a mistake that cost him dearly. If he'd not learned, he went after Sasuke, even after his humiliating defeat in the hands of the Uchiha's elder brother. He had failed with Itachi, what made him think he could take on Sasuke?

Then there was also Danzo; powerful people tend to glow too much in their own power that they stop seeing little things. Lessons had taught him never to underestimate anything. To be defeated, it didn't mean someone had to be stronger than you. Of course, sometimes overwhelming might just couldn't be climbed over. If Acnologia was arrogant, would it matter? No mortal could ever hope to even wound him.

"Well, at least we don't have to worry about the _five_. As long as Acnologia is around, they are not going to make an appearance. For things to move quickly, it is better this way."

"What are you going to do with the Dragons? Shouldn't we captured one? For the dragon seed? If your plan works, it will reverse all the effects, take away my power, and dragon slaying magic you have learned, giving you a normal human body."

"But the mind does not change," Naruto said.

"But if you 'show' this new body the magic, you will transform again. There is only one method to stop the transformation, and you know that."

It would have made everything pointless. He couldn't have that. The same could be said for Irene. "I actually, I don't need to part with you," he said. "You still maintain your form, albeit looking more like a cat. But we should be able to give you enough power to be able to use your current form and then be able to transform."

"I will not settle for looking like a cat!"

Naruto almost laughed: still a prideful Bijuu. "The problem we have now is that you cannot gather magic on your own. If we sever our link, you will eventually die. But we will see what happens. It is your physical body that gives me this _immortality._"

"Being a dragon slayer, you'll still live a long life… not to mention, you are still Uzumaki…"

"We take two then… one for me and one for Irene…" he grabbed his staff, pouring magic to reveal its true form. "However, we have to make sure the gate is closed properly. Because if it gets destroyed, it might force the dragons to disappear. And the amount of magic in the gate may cause some damage if it gets released uncontrollably."

* * *

This was what her future had feared; the end of the world by dragons. Five had already passed through the eclipse gate. Lucy could hear the tremors. More were coming. This was from a time where dragons still ruled the world. If more came, it would end everything. Lives would be lost. The warning she had been given would have been meaninglessness. And death. The trip to come into this time, it would have been all for nothing.

The fear in her was nothing compared the desire to protect everyone. To protect the city. There were dragon slayers. They could do something about the dragons that had already passed through the gate. She had to close it. She had to do everything.

When the sixth dragon passed, Lucy glanced at Princess Hisui. Her eyes were wide in shock. She had been manipulated. But there was no time for that. She could not afford this. Everyone else, appeared to be fully gripped by despair. It was not yet hopeless nevertheless.

Lucy rushed toward the gate. Never minding the dragons. She heard the calls of her name, but she didn't care about the warnings. She just wanted to stop more dragons from passing through.

"We must close the gate!" It was her cry.

At once, she summoned all her spirits, trying to push the gate to close. But she didn't have enough power. It was becoming hopeless as the seventh dragon flew past the gate. The others behind her were already wreaking havoc within the city.

"Together…"

It was Yukino.

The gate did require all 12 keys to open, logically, twelve keys should close it.

* * *

This was not the plan. He'd wanted to stop this, thinking the plan was evil. But he had trusted his Princess, alas, it looks like she too had been deceived. If her trembling body was any indication, she had honestly believed she was trying to save her country. But instead, she had brought its destruction. The dragons were already laying siege to the city. He could hear the screams of her people; he could see the explosions, the trembles caused by the mountain sized beasts walking within the city.

But if they did not move from here, they would all die.

"Princess, we have to get you to safety."

Hisui stared blankly.

Her safety? Did she have any right to be safe while people were dying because of her plan? It did not matter if she had been deceived, the fact was that she had brought this. This was her fault. And the mages, the civilians, they were paying for it. How could she think of freedom, when everyone else was dying? She could not live with herself.

"Where?"

Arcadios turned around. It was chaos everywhere. He could understand her feelings, but this was not time for it. She could not change anything if she allowed herself to be killed. What was the king even thinking about this whole situation?

"Anywhere but here," Arcadios bent, grabbing the Princess. "Please forgive, but it is my duty to protect you. Let us allow the mages to deal with this. There are dragon slayers here…" he said a bit confidently.

He was not too sure, but displaying hopelessness would not put the mind of the Princess at ease.

* * *

It was chaos. The destruction. The pained screams. The shouts of motivation, trying to boost morale. The will to fight. He could hear it all. Along with the power of the dragons. The explosions were tearing through the city, but for some reason, Naruto didn't feel a thing. He placed his right hand on his chest, trying to feel a heart beat; it was there. Even as a dragon, he did have a heart. A dragon was after all a living creature. It was just not human.

Power did have a price. He'd paid the price. But as he has experienced, no power was worth being human. To be human, it was priceless. No amount of magic, knowledge and understanding could create a perfect human.

"Are you not going to join?"

Naruto heard the voice but saw no one: It must be the Mavis. He looked around. The chaos, and yet he just stood still, unconcerned. A normal person would be running for cover, or maybe try to help civilians to safety.

"I believe I had told you I would not speak to you if I could not see you."

"Circumstances are different."

"Indeed." Naruto looked up. At least the gate was closed. The ripple effect that would have been created if it was destroyed would have been disastrous. "Shouldn't you be rallying your children?"

"You are here, aren't you? And you have apparently taken interest in someone from my guild."

"Personal issues," Naruto shrugged indifferently. "But what does my presence have to do with anything?"

"You are powerful and your help would save lives. We might even be able to defeat the dragons."

Naruto snorted. "Ludicrous. No one here has the tiny bit if power to defeat a full dragon. They are just going to get slaughtered."

"And you'd watch?"

"It is not my business."

"Even the one whom you have taken interest in?"

Naruto smiled. "Interest doesn't equal affection to the point of throwing away everything. There is so much I am willing to do."

Those words were said in such a cold tone that it made Mavis uncomfortable.

"But, I will take part. It would be a shame to see everything come to an end."

He grabbed his staff, whispered a few words and blue flames started lick it. When they dispersed, he was holding a black sword.

Mavis felt the change in the atmosphere. She may be a ghost but she could sense the magic. That weapon was not a normal thing. She watched as Naruto ran his index finger on the side of its blade, and it expanded into the same size as him. The weapon was pure black sword and it made her feel uncomfortable. Even in its size, it was sent to float behind him, spinning anti-clockwise a bit slowly.

Naruto created a fist, and a wave of a bust of magic. It felt like a shockwave, running through the capital.

How glad was she that he wasn't the enemy. But she could understand, somewhat, why Makarov feared him. He hadn't even done anything but just turned himself to be slightly serious. He was a dragon slayer. But he was not like Natsu and the others. Those were children. This was a monster.

"What is that sword?"

"A special tool I created…" Naruto responded quietly. He turned, facing the ghost. "I only ever wield it when I want to kill someone or cut through space…" he smiled. "At the moment, I want to do both."

Mavis wondered if he could see her. But it was not the main question to ask. Who was he going to kill? Such a weapon, what was it going to do against dragons with their sizes? Could he cut through the scales of a dragon with that weapon? Mavis also felt a bit unnerved by the fact that he just spoke about killing someone without even skipping a bit. And she could tell, if his smile was any indication, that he was serious.

"Who?"

He did not say anything to her but simply vanished into thin air. But his magic seemed to remain. She could feel it. She could feel the power.

* * *

It was a little disappointing that he couldn't get as many dragons to this side as he wanted, but Rogue was still pleased that he had at least managed to get in about seven. He smiled, riding atop of a dragon. He could do this; he could become ruler of this world. After destroying Acnologia of course.

"What are you trying to achieve, Rogue?"

The annoying little voice of Natsu reached him. Rogue lost his smile for a moment; a problematic Slayer who would not just go away. Well, it was no matter. He was going to make him experience despair. Did he think he had the power to face the might of a dragon? If he thought the dragon slayers could defeat dragons, he would not have concluded this plot - they'd only get slaughtered. He was confident. The dragons would be the ones to turn this city a memory, but he would raise it from the ashes, to create the seat of his rule.

"What I plan to do is not your concern. It doesn't matter anyway, you are all going to die…" Rogue afforded himself a smirk. "You cannot defeat the dragons."

Natsu grinned. "Teme, who do you think you are talking to?!" He yelled, standing up straight. "My magic was created to slay dragons!"

Rogue held out his hands. "Go ahead and try…"

The dragon flapped its wings, taking high into the air, but Natsu held on. "Be still!" Natsu shouted at the dragon, hitting it with a flame engulfed punch. He blinked, when nothing happened.

Rogue laughed. "I told you… this is pointless!"

The dragon flipped upside down, going down in speed. Seeing it was going to crash with its back, Natsu was forced to jump away to flee from getting hurt. But the dragon didn't hit the ground. It didn't even touch the buildings. Its wings flapped as it twisted once more, but the force resulting in its movements was so massive that it created a powerful shockwave that hit the buildings below, creating a huge explosion.

When it took to the air once more, Rogue looked down, trying to see how things were going; all was going well. He could afford a laugh.

He trailed off when Natsu came flying like a flame bullet. The pest would not just go away. Then he laughed once more. Laughing at the thought of inflicting pain on this arrogant slayer; to crush all that hope.

He suddenly froze, his laughter dying within this throat. Even in the midst of the powerful dragons, there was a magic presence that could still stand out. It was that same presence that he had run from back then. He slowly turned his eyes back, tossing a narrow glance toward the blond: he felt different. Was it the ridiculously long sword that was spinning behind him?

"I must thank you for doing this. You are going to solve a huge problem that would have faced me in the near future." Naruto stated, calmly, walking toward Rogue.

"What are you talking about?"

"The dragons, of course. I am going to take two of them."

Naruto smiled at this situation. And then abruptly stopped walking. He hadn't thought of it before. But he was going to do something that he hated was done to him. Sealing something into him. While it was different, it was more or less the same thing. It was amazing just how things changed.

'Are you becoming sentimental?'

'Of course not,' Naruto shrugged, looking up into the night sky. 'I'm amused by what is happening here. Or at least what I intend to do. Long ago, I would have been against the idea of sealing something into someone against its will.'

'Times indeed change.'

'For the better,' Naruto answered casually. And then continued walking.

"What are you going here?" Natsu shouted at Naruto. "He is mine!"

Rogue could afford to ignore Natsu. The blond was the bigger problem. His intent was criminally clear. He had one option here. Not to mention, the blond was slowly edging toward him from behind.

Rogue twisted clockwise, raising his left foot. He launched a quick kick toward Naruto's face. Having seen the kick all the way, Naruto merely held out his right hand, creating a simple defense. When the kick connected with his wrist, he didn't budge, but waved it away, causing Rogue to jump back.

"I didn't think you were part of them. You say you came for Dragons, are you here to stop me?" Rogue glared at him.

"No need for hostility," Naruto said with a wave of his right hand. He then took out his sword, and then threw it into the sky: It stayed there.

"Does that mean you are not an enemy?"

"I'm not a friend." Naruto responded, waving an index finger. "But, not an enemy either. In fact, I don't particularly care about this… I am however, grateful that you brought out dragons. It is going to help me greatly in my dreams."

Rogue didn't like this – not one bit. He couldn't read the blond. He was just an indifferent beast. He was different from the others. He glanced behind: there was still Natsu – an annoying little pest. But Naruto now took priority.

His heart raced a bit when the blond took a single forward. And then another. Those slow, powerful and purposeful steps felt like they were shaking the dragon. Suddenly, he blurred out of existence. His hair stood up; his body completely tensed as the blond appeared behind him. To his relief, he didn't attack him, but simply took a couple of more steps away from him.

Naruto stopped in front of Natsu. A mask of indifference on his face.

"_Fly," _he said, waving his right hand.

"Arg!" Natsu cried as he was hit by an invisible force, slamming him into the sky.

"What the hell?!" Natsu shouted at Naruto, while being carried over to the sky.

He wasn't their enemy, was he? He noticed the blond still had his right hand raised. His eyes glanced ahead when he saw something flashing toward him – a black sword. Before he could do anything, he felt a hand grabbing him around the ankle.

The sword did not hit him but suddenly stopped. He was pulled down, and hurled with great force down to the debris of glorious buildings that once decorated the city.

The clone doing so then burst into a cloud of smoke.

Naruto slowly turned around. "Now, then, the nuisance is out of the way. Tell me, what is the goal here? I know you cheated the Princess, probably just want destruction. But to what end?"

"What difference would it make?"

Naruto stared. "_Answer, _I have no time for 21 questions."

Rogue felt as if he couldn't reject this command. There were dangers if he did so. He could feel it. After a moment, he calmed his thoughts and then smiled.

"I plan to use this power to destroy Acnologia and become the new Dragon King!"

Naruto blinked. 'Is he serious?'

'What do you think?'

"The overconfidence is truly astounding. I should laugh, but it's a little sad," Naruto shook his head. "With what power?"

"I control all these dragons. With their power, I will defeat Acnologia!"

What was this response? How naïve and stupid was this mage? Naruto was no more amused than he was incensed by the stupidity and arrogance.

"You are a child; who needs to be taught what power is. I will beat you up without using any magic and then make you watch as I amuse myself with the dragons before forcing you to make the dragons fly away from here to a secure location where they will not bother any human."

"Hahahahahaha!" Rogue laughed madly. "Are you sure you ca… arg!"

He coughed, gritting his teeth in pain as Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, landing a brutal punch to his gut. It should have sent him flying away, but the blond put a hand on his shoulder, holding him down.

"It is a bit annoying that I must handle things this way, but it can't be helped."

While saying this, Naruto drove two fingers right on Rogue's shoulder, stabbing him. The man cried, as his shoulder seemed to loosen.

He released Rogue from his grip and then tried to place a palm on his chest, but the dragon slayer seized the chance: he coated his left fist with the shadows and tried to punch Naruto on his chest. The blond was however faster. His left hand quickly moved below Rogue's strike, and caught him around the wrist. He didn't waste time before striking the man on his left shoulder with two fingers.

The second he let the hand go, the Shadow Dragon slayer dissolved into shadows, breaking away from him.

A distance away, Rogue murderously glared at Naruto. This was not going according to plan. He couldn't even afford to continue with this fight. His shoulders were disabled. If he received any more hits, he was going to be disabled. Of course, he still needed to regain the use of both his hands. He needed to move away from this person and allow the dragons to get the job done. It was not like Naruto could win against a Dragon anyway.

"Why are you standing in my way? Do you know the kind of things Acnologia can do? He is going to destroy this world as he did with mine!"

Naruto raised an index finger, made a calling motion.

"Your feeble mind fails to comprehend the situation. These dragons cannot defeat Acnologia. Not even Zeref can defeat Acnologia." He shook his head. "It is the responsibility of elders to correct young ones who have become lost in their path."

After saying this, he released a bust of killing intent.

Rogue's entire body froze after being hit by the murderous intent. He felt his breath leaving him. Staring at Naruto, he could only see a terrifying nine tailed beast with black wings glaring down at his form with the malevolence of a devil. He felt afraid.

"Arg!"

Rogue cried when Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, landing a brutal palm on his chest. He felt like a bust of energy tore through within his body. He coughed up blood, the oxygen escaping his lungs once more.

Naruto then grabbed him by his throat, lifting him up. He tried to struggle. But his shoulders were dislocated. The grip felt iron. Slowly, he was being denied his breath.

"And you think you can defeat Acnologia?" Naruto said disdainfully.

The Dragon they were on suddenly flipped downwards, trying to throw them off, but Naruto responded by jumping away. He didn't float in mid-air, but rather descended to the ground, in a free fall.

He crashed into the debris, creating a small explosion.

When debris cleared, he was standing in a large crater, still holding onto Rogue, strangling him.

"This should be about it. I will come and collect you…" he paused, sensing a presence behind. "Well, bring it on…" after saying that, he hurled Rogue into the sky. A clone appeared in a puff of smoke, and blasted toward him.

Two silver younglings jumped from the debris, launching beams of energy toward him. Naruto considered what to do with his sword floating in the air. He could not use dragon slaying magic against such an opponent. It would be insulting. Then again, the result of him learning dragon slaying magic meant he lost the use of much of the abilities he had before. He mainly depended on his stuff to use other magic.

In a slit second, he jumped up, twisting his body while falling forward. The beams blasted just below him as he positioned his body horizontally before landing on the ground on both knees. He picked up a small rock, filled it up with magic and then hurled it toward one of the younglings. The rock slammed on the its chest, and then exploded in a loud explosion that tore burst a hole on it.

Within a second, Naruto was in front of the other youngling, slightly above the ground with his left foot weaving through the air. It connected with the target's temple, sending it crashing through the walls.

Naruto landed on the ground and then turned around, looking at the destruction and then released a long breath. Still much to be done. But at least, he would reap handsomely at the end of it all.

He closed his eyes for a moment: there was much still happening. Well, he needed to get started. He turned his attention toward the Eclipse gate, and then disappeared in a flash.

* * *

Naruto crash landed in front of a green dragon. His landing caused chunks of earth to lift into the air. Around him, were mages, struggling against the aged Dragon. He looked up at it.

"Now, this is perfect," he said, holding out his right hand. In a flash of back, his sword grazed past the dragon before falling into his hand.

"Hmm… a worthy opponent," the dragon said, looking at him carefully, it added. "No… not human…"

Slowly walking out of the crater, Naruto looked around: that child – Wendy. He smiled. A little girl.

He raised an eye brow, seeing Lucy. "I didn't know this was a strip show…" he said, looking over the naked girl.

"It's not a strip show!"

"What is it then?"

"It's the perverted dragon! He took my clothes!"

Naruto continued staring. "I don't mind the view, either. In fact, I'm getting a little excited down there," he paused, smiling. "You shouldn't play like this… I'll be tempted to ask you to help me relieve this growing pain."

Lucy looked horrified. How could he say such things with people around them? Had he no shame? Pausing for a moment, she realized. He felt different. Way different than before. The other mages appeared to be paralyzed in fear. Yet, she was perfectly fine. Though, like a bell far away, she could hear the sound of her heart bearing.

"Hahahahaha!" The dragon laughed. "I was about to eat the humans… but I don't mind playing with you… Dragon Slayer…"

Naruto looked away from Lucy and stared at the Dragon. He could play. For a minute or least. He needed to seal this one away. It had some interesting abilities in the way that it used magic. He could use some of it.

"The humans are your food, and I have come to prey upon you, Sir Dragon."

"Hahahahahaha!"

"Well, I can understand why you laugh. I mean, look at me and you?" Naruto said, not even a little worried. He then turned to Wendy. "Stay away. I want to test this dragon's power."

Wendy could only nod. She knew when she was being given an instruction that demanded to be followed without question.

"Good…" Naruto turned to the dragon. "Shall we see just how agile you are?"

Saying that, Naruto lunged toward the Dragon. It reacted by swinging a fist toward him. Despite its size, the huge fist cut through the air in speed. Seeing it coming, Naruto folded his hands across him. The fist collided with him. A huge blow that sent him rocketing backward, toward the gate. Naruto crashed into the ground, skidding backwards before forcefully coming into a halt, inches away from crashing into the gate.

He straightened up and looked at his hands: They hurt. He'd felt the force course through his body when it fist connected. The strength was different from that of humans. He would never even attempt to take a punch from Acnologia in this form. He'd get busted.

"Hmm… I will give you eight. Power and speed. If not for strengthening things, my bones would have shattered…" he said waving his hands. "Shall we do this again?"

"I held back a bit because you are still _human… _I didn't want to end up crushing you…"

"Points deducted…. I'll give you 5…"

"Are you trying to piss me off?"

"No, you are pissing me off by holding back."

Again, he lunged.

The dragon didn't wait for him to reach it. Its huge fist came slamming toward him with destructive force that picked up some powerful gusts of wind. Before the attack could hit him, Naruto jump to the right, completely avoid it. The fist crashed into the ground, causing the earth to shatter as it lifted debris into the air. Naruto avoided the debris by jumping above the stretched hand. When the dragon tried to move it, he jumped once more, but this time, moving closer to the dragon.

Once more, it tried swatting him to the sides by wiping its left hand with great ease. Naruto avoided this by further jumping up, and then landed on the hand before running forward. The dragon waved its hand wildly to get him off, but Naruto simply jumped back and then floated in the air.

"You can fly?" The Dragon asked with a bit of surprise.

"I never said I couldn't."

"You didn't show it either when you were jumping about like a fly."

"Well, compared to your size, I am indeed a fly," Naruto said with a shrug while holding his hands together. He took an intake of oxygen before making a release. "Dragons roar!"

The magic he released spread out quickly in its blue form. It was lot more like a beam than flames. It was also spreading out wide quickly as it travelled toward the dragon. The Lizard didn't move, taking the magic head on.

Boom!

The collided with its chest with a tremendous force that caused the dragon to fall back, crushing everything below it. It quickly got up, releasing a murderous intent, but not harmed. Not even a little.

Seeing this, Naruto just shook his head. "I suppose in this form the best I can do is to pummel you to the ground. And each time, you'd still get up."

"You are not enough to defeat me, human!" the dragon paused. "But I must admit: I didn't expect you to have that much power."

"Human?" Naruto smiled as he slowly descended to the ground, taking out his sword. "Wasn't it some moments ago that you refused to call me a human?"

"I changed my mind."

"So, it would appear," Naruto sighed.

The Dragon widened its eyes slightly when Naruto suddenly disappeared. Dust only remained where he'd been standing. It didn't have to look far for him as he suddenly appeared on its fight shoulder, holding his black sword. The blond then jumped down, sliding his sword across its torso. When he was about the dragon's belly, he jumped away.

As if the dragon was expecting this move, its huge fist crashed down him. The force was brutal. The second it connected, it sent him rocketing to the ground like a bullet.

Boom!

Naruto crashed to the ground, creating a sizeable crater. But remarkably, he crashed on both his knees, holding his sword above his head with both arms. He spat out some blood. He hadn't received that blow well. A mistake from him. But irrelevant to the outcome of this warmup. He then stabbed the sword on the ground and used it as balance to sat on both feet. He held out his hands: they were a little shaky, but nothing he couldn't shake off.

"What have you done?!"

The shouted as a path started to open into another dimension were Naruto had cut. Slowly, it started being sucked into the black _hole. _Shouting, and growling, the dragon was warped away within seconds. Its massive frame disappeared.

But the chaos behind did not.

Well, at least that was one down, and one more to go. For his him at least.

"You defeated it?" Lucy asked blankly.

Naruto shook his head. "I cheated," he said, walking toward his sword. He then jumped, and landed atop of it. "Now then, one more to go and we can go loose."

He then dropped to the ground, starting to walking away, ignoring that Lucy and Wendy who were rushing after him.

"Won't be nothing left of this city."

"And I care how?"

"Do you want to make enemies?"

"These people brought it upon themselves. The one who should be worried is the Princess. She did this… I'm just cleaning up her mess," Naruto shrugged. "Which form should we take? Dragon Force? Miniature Nine Tail form?"

"You are not going to turn into a dragon?"

"In this place? For who? None is worthy of seeing my Majesty."

Kurama snorted.

"If only your limitless arrogance compared to your appetite to fight Acnologia, there would be much difference in how we handle things. We wouldn't have to walk around with a problematic situation," Kurama said, shaking his head.

Naruto shrugged; Acnologia was an act that demanded absolute resolve and optimum fighting spirit. He could not offer that, not at least now. There were things that he needed to accomplish before he could sign a death waver. If _five_ made an appearance, it would make a difference. But they were cowards. Hiding in fear because Acnologia could kill them. No, his contempt for anything dragon was too great, it was not a possibility, he would do it. Emotional scars made people do questionable and morally flawed things. They never forgave. Never forgetting and hurting others in their pain. Sasuke had been the same; an emotional scarred child who refused to forgive and forget.

A great sage once said, 'vengeance is an admission of pain.'

"Before we get to that," Naruto paused, taking a hold of his sword. "I want to see the amount of magic my most powerful attack will drain from me while in this base form."

"You know that ability is dangerous. If you use it while here, you could destroy this entire city," Kurama said. "Didn't you just say you didn't want to go overboard because it would attract Acnologia and that would leave this place destroyed?"

"I also said I don't care," Naruto said in a flat tone as he walked away from the scene, back to where the Dragons were wreaking havoc. "But it won't cause trouble if I launch it while facing down. I'm not even gonna go _all _out."

"You don't care about how much Magic it will drain. You just want to see if it really can do as you created it. You've never had the chance to try it out fully against a live subject."

"You are making me sound bad," Naruto said with a smile. He then stopped, looking behind; a clothed Lucy and Wendy – wearing baffled expressions. Ah, yes, a dragon that had been toying with them had just disappeared – right before their eyes.

"What happened to the dragon?" A lot more curious, Wendy was.

Naruto eyed the little girl; she was a good enchanter. She could rival Irene once she grows old enough. He struggled with enchantments. Unlike others, he was not so gifted. He just threw around curses and then some. Wendy had the potential. But she still a child – a very small child.

"Gone," Naruto responded, looking up. The mages were struggling. It was actually laughable that even with all the dragon slayers they had, they could do nothing.

"You defeated it like that?" Lucy asked, amazed. The others were struggling to deal with them, but he just made light work of it.

Naruto glanced at the blonde, an expressionless mask. Was it so impressive? Those dragons were nothing compared to Acnologia. If he came here, he'd wipe them all out. Hell, some of them may even wish the gate was still open so they could return to their time to avoid destruction.

"I did tell you I cheated."

"How?"

"If anything, it looked like the dragon just disappeared from existence."

"That is because that is what happened,"

'Let's go have some fun, partner,' Naruto said to Kurama without responding to Lucy. Slowly, he walked away, heading deep into the chaos.

* * *

Bruised, starting to feel a little helpless over the situation, Makarov couldn't help but smile wryly. They had escaped Acnologia, only to return to this time. It was cruel. But they could not run from here. They had to make a stand. Otherwise, it would be the end of this country and its people. Many others have already died. Destruction was massive. There was likely nothing to remain but a wasteland once this was over. At least, the majority of civilians had already been moved and the Rune Knights were also trying to help. Without much success or any at all for that matter.

"Master."

He glanced at Erza and smiled. He considered using Fairy Law in this situation but it would most likely even hurt others. Then again, he wasn't sure how it would be effective in this situation. He was not fighting against humans after all but dragons.

"We should think of a strategy."

"It is becoming more apparent," Makarov said. "Gather th…" he trailed off, feeling that oppressive magic. Even with the power of the dragons, he could still sense the magic from Naruto. There was no power-up. Nothing. He was just that powerful.

"Dragon Slayers failing to slay dragons, nothing could be more ironic," Naruto said holding his sword with his right.

"Aren't you one of them?"

"But I am not a failure."

"That's harsh."

"Nothing but the truth," Naruto shrugged with indifference as he stopped beside the guild master. "I guess I should show you how to kill a dragon. It is a little disappointing, really. If these children can struggle against these ones, what about the other five?"

"What other Five?"

Naruto merely shook his head. He ignored Erza and looked up into the sky. He held out his left hand, slightly folding it. He placed his sword around the elbow, and pointed up at a Dragon, using his left arm as balance to the sword.

"_Ashes to Ashes_…"

A small pure black magic seal formed at the tip of the blade. Another formed, much bigger, and then another. They were three pure black seals. The magic that started to pour out crushed the ground around Naruto. Both Makarov and Erza had to make some distance from him as he began charging up an incredible amount of magic that left both struggling to stay on their feet.

He took a step to the right, taking aim at a dragon that had seemingly noticed his magic presence. It was not just the one, but another dragon followed as well.

Boom!

It was the resounding power that was released from Naruto. The ground was crushed, as a pure black energy, spreading wide was released. It did not go out like a wave, but the more it travelled, the more it expanded. Within seconds, it had completely engulfed the dragon in the path. There was no explosion or cry from the dragon when it was hit by the magic, it was just silence. The magic even continued to spread high up into the high before dispersing. Everyone saw it. Everyone came to a halt. Even the other dragons.

Makarov just stared wide eyed, there was nothing left of the dragon, just ashes falling down Earthaland as darkness fell over the city for a couple of seconds.

* * *

Naruto grinned widely at the effects of his magic. "That was impressive, but damn, I expended too much magic."

"There are still more of those."

"I can still shoot one or two more of those," Naruto shrugged. "Though, I may most likely end up being very weak it would be humiliating to even stand in front of people."

"Should that really be your concern?"

"I guess not," Naruto said. "Let us seal one more and then have some fun. We were a little annoyed anyway."

Naruto started walking out of the crater before jumping into the sky.

* * *

"What the hell is he?" Meredy questioned. She had seen powerful mages before. There was a time she'd thought the mages at her former guild were unbeatable. But this was just beyond ridiculous.

"That is not the important thing here," Jellal said.

But admittedly, he felt wary. That was just something he had not expected. To be able to use a magic ability that can eradicate dragon that dragon slayers have been failing to even scratch was just ridiculous. He could suddenly feel the frustration those people may feel over this. Naruto was also a dragon slayer and he wasn't even using his full power. But then again, there was just something wrong with that sword. Was it really even a normal sword? No, there had to be a reason he used it to channel that technique.

"We have to do our job and help where we can. We can be astonished after," Jellal said, turning his attention to the battlegrounds.

"It is even safer with everyone so focused on the dragons," Ultear said. It just meant they could slip in without having to worry about people from the Council trying to arrest them. At least not now anyway.

"Yes, but," Jellal looked around. No one was winning. In fact, it not for what Naruto had just pulled right now, everyone would have been hopeless. No one had managed to even scratch any of the dragons. Not even the dragon slayers.

Smiling bitterly, Ultear could read Jellal's thoughts. "It just goes to show you the difference in power. We've only scratched the surface."

"Well, we can't exactly measure the standards with dragons and him," Jellal said, shaking his head.

Of course, that just meant that they needed more power. They had to get stronger. Because if Naruto ever decided to turn on them all, there would be nothing they could do against it. They could only present themselves to be slaughtered. The blond didn't seem like the kind of person who blinked when taking care of business. In any case, this was the danger and they always had to be conscious of it. They would have to make good use of their relationship with him to try to get stronger. Because if the Alvarez had more monsters like him, it would be all over for them.

"Still," Meredy shook her head. "What is frightening there is that he isn't even using his full power."

"Nothing good will happen just thinking about it. Let us just get to work."

* * *

"Roar of the Sky Dragon!"

"Roar of the Fire Dragon!"

Natsu and Wendy released a combined attack, launching it toward the dragon hovering above them. The two techniques combined, creating a huge stream of intense flames fanned by Wendy's wind. The Dragon released its own roar, and the two abilities collided in midair, creating a huge ball of energy as they tried to dominate each other. The dragon's roar, started overpowering the dragon slayers technique, dangerously rushing toward the ground.

Natsu and Wendy saw this and stopped their attacks, jumping out of the way. The dragon's roar hit the ground and the buildings around, creating a huge explosion.

Boom!

"Iron Dragon's Club!" In midair, and in front of the dragon, Gajeel released his attack with his hand stretched out. The club hit the dragon on its chest, but failed to move it.

The dragon responded by flapping its wings slightly. It released powerful gusts of winds, causing Gajeel to try to shield himself but the dragon's left palm swatted him to the right like a fly, sending him flying like a bullet.

Boom!

A distance away, Gajeel crashed into a building, he spat out blood, his body aching. Even with the protections, the dragon had nearly crushed his body. He felt broken.

Seeing this, Laxus raised his right hand. He released a powerful burst of lightning that hit the dragon. It was so powerful it shocked the dragon, covering its entire body. Seemingly being hurt by the attack, it let out a screech while falling down. But it did not crash, rather, it landed.

When the technique stopped, there was no damage to it.

No matter how hard you tried. How hard to punched, hurled magic, it didn't seem to make any difference. The Dragons just shook it off as if it was nothing. Laxus had fought great battles. He was confident. He'd just beaten one of the Wizard Saints after all. And he liked to believe that within Fairy Tail, Gildarts excluded, he was the strongest mage. But even he could do nothing in this situation.

Natsu was just throwing magic to the dragon, but it was not doing anything. There were still four more! And they couldn't even defeat one! It was the whole of Fairy Tail. And this was nothing compared to Acnologia. The Dragon of Apocalypse was much stronger than this.

He glanced behind, hearing powerful footsteps that just seemed to echo within his mind.

"You are all dragon slayers and yet you struggle to slay a single dragon," Naruto said, shaking his head with disappointment. "Though in your case, I don't consider you a dragon slayer."

"We are not all equal," Laxus responded quietly. "The powers of a real dragon are something we have only gotten in grips with. These past years, dragons were nothing but mystical creatures."

"That is no excuse to be weak."

"It is easier to become stronger when you have something to measure against."

Perhaps that was true, Naruto could concede that much. If you didn't know the heights of others, you could never aim for them. When you are stronger than the fragile humans before you, you think you have it all.

'I dislike turning into a dragon. Reminds me that I excessively used the magic while trying to become stronger,' Naruto said to Kurama. 'But I guess we can do Dragon Force. It is the ultimate form of a dragon slayer after all.'

'There are five more dragons, you are gonna need it to tackle all five of them.'

'Yes, but I don't really like it. For now, I just want to have some fun and then show these slayers what a true dragon slayer can do.'

'Then thinking about it now isn't going to change anything. People are already dying.' Kurama paused. 'You can still end it any second by ordering that fool to command the dragons to move away.'

'I don't particularly care. It is the fault of the Princess,' Naruto shrugged and then turned his sword into a staff once more. He placed it on his back and held his hands together.

A burst of magic forced Laxus to try to jump away. But before his mind could issue the commands, a sinister force, a repulsing wave of magic just washed over. It turned his stomach, brought him to his knees. A huge pillar of blue magic, reaching up the skies surrounded Naruto. Everything seemed to go into a stand still. The magic seemed to turn into flames, burning everything close by. Laxus swore he could see a hideous pure black dragon.

* * *

There was a slight tremble of the ground. Makarov felt his heart race for a moment. He could never forget this release. This magic. The sinister feeling of this magic. It made even him uncomfortable. It made it difficult for those weak to breathe. This sickening feeling. It had made him question if Naruto was a good person. How can you be good and have a foul stench about you? This was a murderous intent. You could not mistake it. It sent bone chilling shivers to anyone's spine. It was no wonder that even the leader of the Spriggan had decided against fighting but chosen to stop with the march. Of course, there was the issue of the Magic Council.

"I see this is what you worried about," Mavis said. She too was honestly nervous. Even in this form, she felt the fear.

Makarov glanced at the first master before speaking. "The power is not as much as when he has transformed into a dragon. I think he can actually fight Acnologia. That alone is frightening but even when he is on your side, this murderous intent is unnerving."

"What if it is just the power? Various powers come with certain feelings about them."

The first master could not be that naïve, could she? People could be fooled by the way Naruto smiles and carries himself. Aside from his oppressing presence, he does carry a rather harmful look about him. But so do most powerful mages.

"Despite his curious attention to Erza, I don't think that man holds many things to heart, first master."

"What do you mean by that?"

"He told me before he stood in front of those people. I have told you this already. That man didn't stop it because he thought it was wrong or anything. Even now, he isn't doing anything because he wants to save lives. If that be the case, he would have done something different long time ago. He does things for his reasons. Selfish, you could say…" Makarov shook his head. "I can never forget the day he stood up and said he was willing to slaughter thousands of soldiers from the very Empire he represents just to prove a point. And he _meant _it."

Mavis glanced at the still city and then shook her head. Well, at least she now understood why Makarov worried.

Naruto was apparently a cold, and murderous kind of person who'd kill anyone without second thought.

But perhaps dangerously, it was that he was a rational person. There was nothing more dangerous than cold rationality.

* * *

Those eyes, they were not human. The scales around his body, the sharp claws like hands. Laxus was certain he was staring at a human dragon. The imagine behind the blond was that of a dragon. Was this the power of a true dragon slayer?

"Hmm, yes. This is the final form of a dragon slayer."

It was as if he was reading his mind.

Naruto took a single step forward and then grinned. He'd never felt so alive. So cold. So indifferent. He'd tried not to think about transforming. But Acnologia could come even now. He'd not care. Then again, becoming like a dragon did bring the darker side of things. But this was pure destruction. It could not be helped. No? He had five dragons he had to fight against. Acnologia wouldn't waste time with them, but he could afford to amuse himself by pummeling them. He could even make his flames burn now. Use more magic than he normally used.

'Don't go overboard.'

'We are in this Majestic form, why would I restrain myself.'

'Less damage.'

'I don't care.' Naruto shrugged. 'How many years has it been since I even used this form? The Spriggan have not even seen it.'

'You only showed them your dragon form,' Kurama said. 'And that was some years ago.' He then grinned. 'Well, you should show them the difference in power.'

Naruto shared Kurama's grin. 'Shall we, then?'

* * *

This was perhaps the hardest chapter I've had to write. The linguistic on some paragraphs was unfamiliar, and I had to incorporate a different perspective when I write.

In any case, the next chapter shall be an all out smackdown. There will be appearances from people in the Alvarez.

Hope you enjoyed it

The omnipresent sage


	8. Chapter 8

Laxus couldn't begin to fathom what those within the city experienced at the power coming from Naruto. But, what he felt kept him grounded. Perhaps making any movement would feel like defiance. Not that he could anyway. He couldn't move, as much as he wanted to. But not to go away, just to keep his distance. His sense of danger was on overdrive – death was the cry. Was this person even human? He thought Acnologia's power was ridiculous but this was another whole world. It was made worse because the blond appeared human. But that dark shadow behind him disagreed with the conscious thought of the blond being human.

When Naruto suddenly took off to the air, Laxus felt free. Free enough to be able to move. Yet, his heart, a pounding merchant that refused to be still. He laughed at himself. When had he become so scared? At this rate, even Natsu was better than him. The Fire dragon slayer was probably raring up for a battle. He knew, this was a battle far beyond his capabilities. He was sure even Gildarts would have second thoughts about fighting this one, if he had another option of avoiding it.

"You okay, Laxus?"

He glanced at Erza. She was looking at him with concern. He had been closer to the blond when he transformed. Almost everyone was on this side. He adopted a stern look, trying to regain his tough bravado he had lost moments ago.

"Yeah," he grunted, looking up into the heavens. "We should move away from here."

"Are we not going to assist?"

He stared at her, wondering if she was serious, but this was Erza. But she did she expect to do here? The dragons were going to go all out now. The destructive power would reduce everything they touch into ashes. They'd just be in the way of the battle. It was fine to watch, as long as Naruto was fighting the dragons. If he was the enemy, then maybe, just maybe, after his battle with the dragons, he would be worn out and they could take advantage of it.

"Most of the mages here would only get slaughtered," Laxus said sternly. "Look…" he said, watching a dragon throw a quick fist toward Naruto. It connected, sending the blond rocketing toward the ground before crashing into a loud boom that raised large amounts of debris into the air. What followed was another dragon launching a dragon's roar. He turned to Erza once more. "Do you want to fight that?"

It was a battle of monsters.

Erza glanced to the sides for a moment before shaking her head. There were wounded mages lying all over the place, as long as the dragons were preoccupied with Naruto, they could at least try to focus on getting them to safety. But what would be left of the city after all this? Was there going to be anything standing?

"We should get to it."

* * *

"I may not be pleasant in handling you. I suppose I shouldn't mess around when in this form. We must be conscious that humans are below and will be hurt."

'I thought you didn't care.'

'Well, I don't want to end up getting hated by everyone for causing destruction. It is like saving a man from an invader but then destroying his house in turn.'

'You still don't care.'

'No, but they are watching. We must…' Naruto trailed off, turning his attention toward the dragon in front of him. He saw a huge fist, blasting air waves as it moved toward him. He quickly folded his hands across his chest, and then wryly smiled wondering just what this kind of defense would do against a fist that was much bigger than his entire body. He wasn't able to answer his own thoughts before the fist collided with his body. The shockwave coursed through his body upon the hit, sending him rocketing to the ground like a bullet.

Boom

He slammed into what remained of building, completely shattering it before becoming buried on the ground. He watched unharmed, as debris picked up, chunks of wood flying to the sides.

'You are going to get killed because you tend to get careless at times.'

'That was not fair. The dragon should have seen that I still busy.'

'The dragon is still attacking you. Are you going to allowed yourself to get hit again?'

Naruto stared up, a Dragon's Roar. He could try to take it on without complaints, but when did he willingly give free gifts? Besides, he wanted to show complete domination. Then again, if it didn't hurt him, he was still dominating. Allowing the opponent to waste energy throwing in punches was one way to get them to become confident, and then sucker punching them. Killing hope in battle was one way to break a man, or in this case, a dragon.

Without getting up from the ground, Naruto summoned his sword, pointed it toward the dragon hovering above him. He waited until it released its Roar, watched it move toward him without getting up.

'**Pierce through the right eye**.' He commanded, releasing a thick black energy, in the same thickness as his sword. The blast short through in blinding speed, cutting through the dragon's Roar without stopping the massive energy from reaching him. It just cut through.

Boom!

The blast caused a shockwave to tear through the debris, blasting them away. The Roar formed a large dome after hitting the ground, seemingly swallowing Naruto after a direct hit. When the explosion cleared, there was no sign of Naruto within the large crater than had been formed by the blast.

Naruto appeared above the dragon he was fighting with, his hands held together. He lifted them above his hand, and blue flames ignited, creating a huge flame sword that almost the size of one of the dragon's wings.

"Dragon's Sword."

He slammed the magic across the back of the dragon. There was a resounding boom when the magic slammed into the back of the dragon. Its wings spread out wide as it was sent crashing to the ground. Its crash to the ground created tremors, but it quickly flapped its wings, rising up to the ground once more.

Naruto looked to his right while floating in midair. A large roar of intense heat that seemed ready to swallow him was moving toward him. The Fire Dragon. His magic should have attracted its attention. The other mages were no longer fighting anyway. He glanced down, the other dragon was charging toward him. The other three were dancing above the sky, looking like there were out of control. Was Rogue losing control over them? If so, it would cause a bit of problem.

A clone appeared in a puff of smoke, and moved below him to face the incoming Dragon while he raised his right hand, its palm facing the incoming flames. The clone held hands together, as its belly ballooned before releasing an impossibly huge blast of blue flames, charging it straight toward the incoming Dragon. Seeing the attack, the Dragon released its own roar. The two attacks collided, creating a huge explosion up in the sky.

"**Warp everything into the unknown**." Naruto issued a command, with his outstretched hand.

'Are you being stupid on purpose?

Naruto blinked when nothing formed in front of him. The intense flames slammed into him, creating a huge explosion in the sky. The flames were so intense that when they collided with him, the shock from the hit, released bursts of intense heat that were felt below. Within the flames, Naruto was surrounded by his own magic. He grabbed his sword, and swiped it across the flames. The simple flick of his sword ripped open a portal in space, swallowing all the flames within a minute.

"Take this human!"

The Fire Dragon hit him with punch encased in crimson flames. Naruto felt the hit as it slammed on the side of his body. The sudden hit caused him lose his grip on his sword. He felt something jolt through his entire body as he was sent rocketing through the air, with so much speed that he could not control his body. The dragon had released a lot of strength when hitting him.

He would have been sent crashing miles away from the area but another Dragon swung the back its hand, batting him to the ground. Naruto crashed with his head first, getting buried while chunks of earth caused havoc within the air. After a moment, he flipped to his back, unharmed and stared at the dragons.

'I forgot I cannot issue those commands while not in physical possession of my sword. This is why I dislike this jealous magic,' Naruto said, while getting up. He frowned, looking at his right shoulder. It looked a little twisted. That should not even be happening, but then again, he received two hits from two dragons. He put it back into position and held out his right. A second later, he was holding onto his sword.

"You are truly strong for a human. This is what you can call a perfect Dragon Force state," a dragon said, hovering above him.

Naruto looked up to the dragon from the crater he stood. It was the dragon he had attacked earlier. "I didn't hear a cry, so, I thought my attack missed," he said. The dragon had its right eye closed. His magic must have done as intended – piercing through its right eye.

"It is an interesting magic you use. Dark magic it would seem," the Fire Dragon said, charging toward him in speed, slightly above the ground. There was nothing but chaos around it as the force it created while moving blasted everything away.

Naruto turned around to face the fire dragon. The moment he did, it released a huge Roar. The intense flames burnt everything on their path, charging toward him. Naruto responded by doing a quick jump to avoid the flames. The flames left nothing standing in their wake. There was but a clear path as the Fire Dragon stopped its attack and jumped up into the air.

"You complimented me earlier, I'm grateful to say thank you. But it is unnecessary. And you are quite right, this is Dragon Force its is full capabilities. You can see from the scales. My body as just as difficult to cut or break as that of a dragon. It is unthinkable that a normal human could manage to wound me in this state," Naruto said calmly before disappearing in a flash. He appeared just bellow the dragon's belly, hands clapped together. "So then, should I reduce your numbers? This is one of my most deadly attack in this state, if you survive it, I will admit defeat."

"Dragon's Hounds…"

Two snake like dragons formed in front of him, dark blue with pure black eyes, breathing in hot air. The dragons moved like snakes, quickly wrapping themselves around the dragon. It quickly tried to move up by flapping its wings, by the dragons didn't let up.

Naruto created a distance with him and the dragon, while holding his hands together. The dragon was struggling. The flame dragons snapped, they would reattach again and continue to wrap around the dragon.

"Hmm?" He looked up and the glanced down. Two dragon roars coming his way. "Oi, isn't this a bit of an overkill?" He exclaimed, though not panicked. If he let go of his hands, he would lose control of the dragons, and it would stop his spell, which he didn't want to do. He could not start something and not fish it.

* * *

"Your Majesty, why have you summoned us here?"

Zeref glanced at August for a moment before looking back at the battle before him. It was a magnificent show of force from Naruto. He has always had that in him, but has continuously refused to do so. For some reason, it was like he hated fighting. He never attempted to fight him or August and he fled from Acnologia. It was not because he was weak, but because he simply chose not to. And when he did fight, it was not actually battles but rather, teaching lessons. He'd tried to stop these people from seeing the absolute power of the blond, but he failed. The only way for him to mitigate the situation was to have his people see just how powerful Naruto was.

Invel especially underestimated him. August had a grasp of things but not the full picture. He however knew enough not to try to peek through the mask.

"Invel, why do you think Naruto employed tactical strategies and mostly used physical attacks during the formation of the Empire, while only making the minimal use of magic. And even when he did use simple spells, they were used efficiently?"

And now, it seems he has abandoned that style. Invel glared. Honestly, he didn't know Naruto was that powerful, not until he transformed into a dragon in order to stop them from waging war against Ishgar. He hadn't even known the blond was a dragon slayer before the transformation. Years of feigning to be weak had blinded him into thinking the blond was a pushover.

Understandably, opponents were humans back then, and now he was fighting against dragons. Nothing but brute force would work against the overwhelming force of the dragons. Unlike humans, they were not fragile. Humans may be the predators, but their bodies were unimpressively fragile compared to other species. But even without using that form, Naruto's physical conditions surpassed that of a normal human. He'd seen him take hits and not even blink.

"Why indeed," Invel pondered. He glanced at August to see if the man had any idea but his expression was unreadable. The man nevertheless possessed knowledge about magic far beyond normal people.

"It was simply unnecessary for him to use any other magic."

"Why unnecessary?" Invel did think there was another suspicious reason, which is why the Emperor was asking. Naruto was not stupid. He was knowledgeable about things – even magic.

"It is the same reason Acnologia would never bother speaking to you." August shook his head. "Why bother using magic when you can whip out a stick?"

Zeref smiled – at least August understood things better. But Invel had to fall in line. He should now realize that there was danger with Naruto – far more than he imagined. Because, soon enough, that would be their opponent and they had to have the right mind set before facing.

"There is also the nature of dragon slaying magic. It makes it difficult for him to use other magic. He can only hold dragon slaying. But before, he could use different types of magic. He manipulated all elements freely. And now, he is only using about half of his power." Zeref shook his head. "You can see it now, he is not using any other magic because he cannot. His Sword is his greatest weapon. Hence, it is always by him."

"It seemed attached to him by some link."

Zeref nodded. "It was designed that way. You rarely see the sword in its true form. The attachment is because he knows if he loses it, his method of using other forms of magic disappears. You take away that sword, you remove the danger."

He was saying that, but Zeref didn't want to believe that Naruto didn't have a way to counter that. Then again, he blond could be reckless at times.

"Easier said than done. Taking it away from him is meaningless. You need to know how its linked to him."

"Well, Irene would know," Zeref said calmly. "You must realize that man can stand equally in the same foot with Acnologia if he so willed."

"Why doesn't he though?"

"Naruto has stated that he doesn't use his full power unless someone has to die. If he were to battle Acnologia, one of them would die."

"Besides that…" August paused, looking over at Naruto's movements. "He doesn't really care about what happens. Probably chose to come to this side just to 'balance' things out."

In his eyes, there was little that Naruto cared for. He was suspicious about his attachment to Irene. But it wasn't like it was anything anyone could use against him. He appeared cheerful and pleasant, but there was another side of the blond that August wished not to see.

"Well, with this power, it is apparent that he could have stopped things long ago," Invel said. "But it is for this reason that we must get rid of him now."

"You are not listening… It is impossible for you to do so. You are not brought here to fight him but to understand your enemy better. Learn his weaknesses…" August said. "One is that he uses his stuff as a medium to utilize other forms of magic."

"Aside from dragon slaying magic, of course."

"Yes, but killing him even without those forms of magic may be impossible. It is likely that like me, he is immortal." Zeref turned away. "You may leave now. I wanted both of you to see this. Invel as my chief strategist and August as the leader of the Spriggan."

"With you here, should we do something?"

"His Majesty has already spoken, Invel. We depart." August said turning away. He was sure Naruto had already noticed them. There was a possibility that he could turn his attention on them.

Not wanting to disagree with August, Invel nodded and quickly departed.

Zeref settled down, frowning slightly over the fact that Natsu had yet to become stronger. He needed his brother to become better than this. But perhaps with this, he would be motivated to train and become much stronger.

For now, he had to wait to ask something about Naruto. Did he have to wait? Naruto was planning to use the Dragons for something. But he could take them and control them himself, he could gain more powerful weapons than allow Naruto to use the Dragons against his Empire when they do battle. Or maybe Naruto was not even thinking about that far. The blond was rather selfish after all.

If he moved, how would Naruto react? Angrily? A possibility. But how did he offset this? Irene. Yes, she was the only person who could do him a favor in this situation.

He could sense where that mage controlling the Dragon's was being held after all.

* * *

What to do? What to do?

There was no way he was going to receive those hits without putting any defense and remain unscathed. It was on of those reasons he truly hated this magic. He really needed to find ways to mitigate its effect on his ability to hold any other magic. Or otherwise, he'd find himself lacking when the situation called for it.

Naruto closed his eyes. Dodging was the best thing to do. Teleportation to close distance was easy enough. A magical version of Shunshin.

Before the roars could hit him, Naruto disappeared in a flash. The dragons didn't see this. They only watched as their abilities collided in midair, causing a massive explosion that sent shockwaves through the air. The massive explosion stood above the city, as if the moon had suddenly lowered and was ready to drop down on them.

Naruto appeared above the Fire Dragon, his hands still held together, a clone behind him as well.

"Dragon's Roar!"

Both he and the clone released massive flames, rapidly rotating with intense heat. The two combined, creating a large force that slammed into the back of the dragon like tornado. The large force of nature sent the dragon crashing into the ground.

Boom!

Its massive frame crashed within seconds, creating a shockwave that was felt around the city. The debris was sent flying, causing those still close by to seek shelter. Despite its massive size, the dragon was fully encased within Naruto's attack, rising up like a dome. There was not even a flicker of crimson flames visible before the attack started dispersing. The Fire Dragon was lying in a huge crater, its flames burning slowly.

Turning to the dragon caught within this twin dragons, Naruto smiled. "Earlier I had used my most powerful magical attack. This ability, is one my most powerful dragon slaying spell. Those dragons contained what humans call gas, right now, it is filling up inside of you… I'm going to cause it to combust.. from the inside… the question is, can you survive?" He asked. "This is a little suicidal, but I must see if it works."

His eyes glowed

"**Ignite**." He snapped his fingers.

The dragon started ballooning, its belly becoming huge. Every part of its body seemed to expand.

Boom!

The explosion tore it apart. If not for the intense flames released from the dragons when they exploded, the guts spilled from the dragon, its legs, wings would have ended up being blasted throughout the city. But the twin dragons created an intense heat that caused even those below the ground to start sweating due to its intensity.

Naruto allowed himself to drop to the ground, his Dragon Force disappearing.

'Suicidal magic,' he shook his head. 'It displeases me that I have not found a better way to use this spell without sacrificing my form.'

'Should you even be worried? That is your last attack and it kills anything.'

'But Acnologia wouldn't allow himself to be caught by the twin dragons.'

'Not unless you beat him up,' Kurama said.

'I guess,' Naruto looked up. His expression became expressionless when he received the memories of his clone. 'Tsk…'

'What?'

'Zeref.'

'Still bothering you?'

'If what I am thinking is right, he is trying to take control over the dragons or at least stop me from doing so. I believe he assumes I plan on using them against the Empire when they do attack.'

'Well, are you not?'

'Are you kidding me? I'm not that much of a strategist. Thinking far too ahead is for those blessed. I'm selfish…' Naruto said twisting around while holding his sword with his right hand. He closed his eyes and focused on the target. '_**Seek him.**_'

* * *

It was almost funny that a single person who did not exist in his time had appeared in this time and was fighting with the dragons. The city was getting destroyed but the impossibility of his actions left him gapping with shock. He'd not thought this possible. If not for the clone, he would have already laughed hysterically. There was nothing he could do there. It was total defeat. When the dragons hit the blond, there had been a bit of hope injecting some defiance in his heart but he just got back up and continued where left off.

Disappointing, to think that he'd fail.

Rogue glanced at the person beside him. "What are you?"

"Does it matter? After taking the dragons away from the city, you are going to die. I think it is most poetic if you die ignorant."

Rogue was not deterred. What he wanted to know was why Naruto was not in the future destroyed by Acnologia.

"Why were you not in the future?"

"You are playing with time. Let me ask you this question; what happens to the future that you came from? Does it continue or is it future of this world? Your future cannot be the same. There are many things that happen with time. I'm certain that it will try to correct itself. I have come across such a thing. In any case, you won't find me in the future. However, if you were likely to go into the future of the current time, you'd find me. But nobody is going to use the gate from now on. I'm going to lay clai…" He trailed off, glancing behind to see Zeref.

The Emperor came without a warning a blasted a whole through his chest. The clone disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"You!"

"You have presented me with an opportunity and to him." Zeref said, grabbing Rogue by the back of his neck. "This ability to control Dragons, what did you call it?"

"I'm not telling you."

Zeref's eyes flashed crimson, smiling, he said. "You need not. Just get them to this side while I assume control and I will permit you to live… maybe find time to rule over this continent once we have waged war against it." He glanced toward the direction of the city. "Forget it. It appears _he _does not want you to live." After saying that, he jumped away.

The moment he did so, he saw a mark appearing on Rogue's forehead. The black sword was upon the mage within the blink of an eye. It pierced through his forehead, stopping just behind him.

Zeref watched with curiosity as Rogue's body started to disintegrate. Within seconds, the man's body became ashes.

Sensing Naruto rushing toward him, Zeref put on a smile, just growing a little excited about the possibilities of the next couple of minutes. With Naruto, it could go either way. If Naruto wanted to fight him, he could oblige.

The blond crash landed a distance away from him, an expressionless mask on his face. Whether he was angry or just simply displeased was something he couldn't tell.

"Nuisance."

Zeref chuckled. "This is the first time someone has called me as such. But I guess from where you stand, this makes sense. This is the second time I interfere with you."

"Indeed and I'm finding it bothersome. But in this scenario, I cannot say your actions should not have been predictable. If I gain control of the dragons, it becomes a major advantage for Ishgar. They could lay waste to your armies while I dismantle your Spriggan," Naruto said in thought.

"I considered that," Zeref said, as the remaining four dragons arrived, hovering above them. "What must happen now."

"I assume you have gained control over them."

"Yes."

"I can simply leave with them. And there will not be any problem."

And just hand the man war weapons? Ishgar would be at a massive disadvantage. Its chances of surviving would be slim. Hell, the continent could be at a risk of being wiped out. Zeref's armies would destroy anything on their path until they reach this country because it was their ultimate destination.

Naruto held out his right hand, summoning his sword. "I'm afraid I cannot let that happen."

"That sword of yours… it is purely _magic, _isn't it? The magic it releases is a mixture of different magic. It is similar with my magic which can wipe anything it touches. Yours erases anything it is_ told _to erase."

Naruto positioned the sword in front of him, pointing at Zeref. "At this range, it won't have the space to expand wide enough to hit your entire body. But the question is, will there be enough time for you to regenerate? I'll be assuming control over the dragon's by the way."

"Perhaps not," Zeref smiled. "But will you have enough time to dodge the combined abilities of four dragons in your current state? That magic uses too much magic and I have seen that you require some time to charge."

"Well, that is merely just possibilities that could go either way," Naruto said. "But, are you forgetting what I just did now?"

Zeref got his answer when a mark appeared on his forehead.

"Don't worry, I only get one shot. I can't mark the same person twice. But the problem is that I can't miss. The question is whether you can survive. If you can survive it, you have lived. I won't try it again," Naruto explained in a light tone. "Go away Zeref. Leave the dragons. I have uses for them. But rest assured, they will not be used for war. I'm not that kind. I need them for me. There are mysteries I must solve and I require them."

"Whether they are used for war doesn't really matter. I have the dragons under my control. I won't willingly give it."

Naruto's eyes flashed crimson. "I will not repeat myself, your Majesty."

* * *

Destruction; it was never a pleasant thing to see. No one wanted to witness this. But perhaps the most damning part of this destruction was that there was nothing they could do – they'd been hopeless. Nothing they did worked. For all the power displayed at the magic games, sometimes other worldly, it had been reduced to meaningless in the face of the might of Dragons. Makarov could only smile – a truly bitter smile as he looked at the once wonderful city.

Had it been Magnolia, his feelings would have been much more profound. But this was not his home. But he could still sympathize. At least, this was a destruction his children would not be blamed for causing. His children tended to be destructive when they did their jobs. But this time, the Council would not shift things toward them.

Of course, unless there was an agenda.

"It is finally over."

Makarov glanced at Mavis and then went back to look at the debris. The children were celebrating. Not their success but the fact that they made it out alive. Buildings could be rebuilt, but once life was lost, there was no turning back.

"Yes… but the cost is heavy," he responded.

"Considering what we had to face. This is more than enough. Lives could have been lost."

Makarov nodded. That would have had everyone mourning even though the Dragon's suddenly flew away. No one had the appetite to give a chase. Not after they witnessed.

"But it is not yet over. Is this the last time we seem them again? The gate has been closed…"

Thinking of the gate, Makarov wondered what the people would be thinking about the monarchy after this, especially Princess Hisui. She was the one who caused it. Whether fooled or not, some people were unforgiving. They had lost their memories. Their homes. Some people did die. They just were able to save many. Makarov shook his head – he had to focus on his Guild.

"Well, we have to see whether he will take control over the situation. Something may have happened," Mavis said.

"I think so. He just suddenly left. And so did they dragons. I doubt they just fled. Something indeed happened," he managed a small smile. "But at least they stopped that battle. There would have been nothing remaining if they had not stopped."

Mavis nodded. "This would have become a wasteland." But just how powerful was Naruto? He was far above the other Dragon Slayer. The gap was just impossible. That was indeed dragon slaying magic, alright. The magic to slay dragons – Naruto displayed that. "We should really try to get him on our side."

"Even after everything?"

"What is wrong with that? He is powerful and can protect the Guild."

"Doesn't seem like someone who can belong to a Guild. And I don't think he was necessarily fighting for Fiore even in this battle."

"Does it matter? As long as he has no negative thoughts towards us, we should welcome him. Fairy Tail could cement its place as the strongest. Nobody is going to talk about our victory at the magic games now. Not the fact that Laxus defeated a member of the Wizard Saints."

A bit reckless the first master was, but Makarov was not going to try anything with Naruto. It was best to keep the distance. Naruto was nothing like his children. He couldn't even tell what the blond desired. His wishes were something to be feared with his power.

"The Magic Council is going to make a move against him with this showing. They may even blame him for everything. He is powerful. Ridiculously so. They are not going to want someone they can't control."

* * *

"Is it right to moving out like this?" Meredy asked, the destruction behind them.

"There is nothing else we can do," Jellal said.

With dragons gone, the battle was over. There was nothing for them to do. Not to mention, the Magic Council knights were already moving into the scene. They were wanted people. Getting caught there would only cause problems. The Council already had enough to deal with anyway.

"We don't want to get caught up in the middle of things. The Council will be looking at the royal family," Jellal frowned just thinking about this.

Was it right for them to get away with what has happened? They allowed themselves to set this up and it almost destroyed the country. They played with magic that one should not be playing with without even understanding it and as a result, lives were lost, dragons had laid siege to the capital.

"But we need to get better. We cannot atone if we cannot help in this situations."

Ultear didn't think there was anything they could have done. While it left a bitter taste in her mouth that with all their power, there was nothing they could do, she also understood the gravity of things. They had been against dragons. Against humans, they would have fared better, maybe even won. But that was a gigantic battle of titans and they were nothing more than insignificant insects.

Not long ago, she'd looked at herself as god. Manipulating people left and right, confident in her abilities. But she amounted to nothing.

"We can't use that standard to measure ourselves but we do need to get better. Battles of the future are only going to need more strength. We must prepare."

* * *

Hisui could only stare at her mess with disbelief. Tricked or not. This was on her. She had made the choice. She had not backed down even when questioned because she believed a man who claimed to be from the future. Had she been that hopelessly looking forward to protecting her kingdom that she would do anything? Even believe a man she had never seen in her life? For years, and this was the result. A destroyed city. Her grand plan to save the kingdom almost destroyed it.

How was she going to stand before her father or even her people? She had caused this. She had brought it upon them. She had to face the consequences. Yet, even in this situation, she could do nothing. Was she really worthy of being Princess of Fiore? Were her subordinates even going to keep following her even after everything?

"What have I done, Arcadios?"

Arcadios glanced at the Princess. She was on her knees. Shattered. Was she crying? But what would tears do in this situation? He should have stopped. He should have gone and stopped her. Of course, that had been because he doubted her.

"We have to focus on rebuilding and correcting things, Princess," Arcadios stated firmly. She has condemned this place but those were not the right words to say. He was ultimately her protector, and protect her he would. "You did what you thought was right."

"But I was wrong."

"You have to stand up, my daughter." Toma said firmly. "If you cannot stand up now, you won't make it as a leader. You must be able to face up to your decisions. This ultimately tests your mantle."

* * *

Naruto stood before the eclipse gate and looked up into the sky. So much had happened. All because of this gate. Because someone found a way to abuse this power. Zeref, Lucy's ancestors, and the dragons caused this. It was ridiculous that they had chosen against coming out even seeing this happening. Then again, they had remained holed up even at the presence of Acnologia. How long did it take for them to create the dragon seed to stop one from becoming a dragon?

'You think if it was Konoha, I'd have just sat and watched with indifference?'

Kurama appeared in a puff of smoke, on Naruto's shoulder. He looked around with his eyes. 'I'm only disappointed I didn't get to do this. Though if it had been me, it could have been worse.'

"Your pride still is the size of a mountain when you have been reduced to nothing more than a kitty," Naruto shook his head. "Well, I suppose things have been different. My irrational love for Konoha astounds me, even till this day. Perhaps one day, we will return to the shinobi world. But I wonder if I'll be able to love it."

"Does it matter? You gave it your all. Including your very life."

"Indeed. Well, at least they praise me now," Naruto shook his head. "Being a hero is so overrated. What is worth dying when you can't even love or get to witness such great feats? We should do this and think about the future."

He stabbed his sword on the ground and did hand seals. A large magic seal appeared above the gate, and another spread through the ground. The ground began to tremble slightly as it swallowed up the gate.

"What are you doing?"

Naruto turned around to face Arcadios. The Princess was also there. The others were also coming to this side. Was it the magic that attracted them?

"Taking this thing away since you have misused it."

"How do we know you are not going to misuse it as well?"

Naruto raised an eye brow. "Are kidding me?"

Hisui had just done something that nearly resulted in the ending of Fiore. Had this gone for too long, Acnologia may have even sensed the presence of the dragons and decided to come here to destroy everything and no one would have done anything stop it.

"Do you not see what has happened here? It is because that gullible Princess of yours allowed herself to be deceived by someone who had claims. And although the royal family has been 'custodians' of the gate for generations, she knew nothing. She knew Layla, she should have bothered asking. But she ran along with what she was told because she wanted to be hero."

Why was he even bothering talking to these people about this? It was not like there was anything they could do. The Eclipse gate would be his, decorating his den for the foreseeable future.

"True, the end result is not what was desirable but…"

"Piss off…" Naruto said, waving his right hand. He paused, maybe he was a little ticked off after his encounter with Zeref. The man was constantly trying to undo him. He was lenient, but there had to be limits, yes?

"We are grateful for driving away the dragons but we cannot allow you to take that way."

Naruto faced the man. It seemed the mages wanted to get in on the fun. He held out his right hand, and his sword flew into his hand. It became engulfed in blue flames before taking the form of a stuff. He held it like a walking stick, and then spoke.

"Disappointing," he said, walking over to Hisui. Arcadios quickly stood in front of him. The man's presence was huge but having stood in front of dragons moments ago, Naruto felt like the man was nothing more than an insect. In a swift movement, his stuff hit the man across his left shoulder. The moment it collided, he was sent rocketing to the sides like a bullet, screaming along the way as his armor cracked.

Naruto quickly settled down in front of Hisui, placing his stuff on his lap. His actions halted the movements of anyone who wanted to jump in.

Hisui was unable to look at him. She was frightened. Her only reprieve came when her father stood by her, holding her right hand.

"A father will always look after the child… parental love, sibling love, at its core it has no limits. I knew a man once who claimed he'd love his younger brother even if he attacked their village for revenge. This love is something beautiful. Friends will easily discard you the moment you go wrong. Of course, it isn't always true in both situations."

"You seem like a reasonable person," Toma said, glancing at the guards and the mages around. He shook his head.

"Of course I am… but I look at this through the lens of observation. My own father chose his village first and then me," Naruto said, smiling. "But I suppose when you lead a nation, your duty is to it. In any case, I merely wish to talk to the Princess. I have no intentions of doing anything."

Hisui looked at him. She had spoken to him before when he stood before the Eclipse gate. He had seemed to know about it.

"Did you know?" She found some courage to ask.

Naruto shrugged. "Who knows?" he said. "You are a kind, sweet girl who obviously wanted to do everything to protect her nation. But that does not erase what happened."

Looking down, Hisui nodded. She was the cause. She allowed herself to be deceived by that man. Maybe she should have taken his words and studied them. But for years she believed she was doing the right thing.

"If you were a normal person, what do you think would be happening to you?"

"I'd be stripped of all my titles and condemned and arrested."

"Indeed. But you are a Princess. Nothing is going to happen to you. You only have to deal with your guilt. And I can see it is already weighing you down. But you must look at this, this is your doing. Face up to it and…" he trailed off and looked up into the air. Moments later, the Rune Knights marched into the scene, surrounding them.

"Under the orders of the Magic Council, you are to come with us!" Lahar shouted, staring at him.

"I'd hoped to avoid this," Naruto sighed. Why was this happening? He stood up, turning to face Lahar. "I'd often heard that the Council is corrupt and rotten to the core."

Lahar ignored this. "Are you going to come with us?"

Refusing meant war with the Council. But what did it matter? He had done everything possible to try to avoid it. Corrupt and dictatorial it was, but it still had its uses.

"Why?"

"You are wanted for questioning."

Naruto walked up to Lahar and stopped in front of him. "What gives the Council the authority to question me? You can go back and tell them, Naruto does not bow to them and if they wish answers, they can come and ask themselves… or they must say please. Maybe I'll indulge them…" he placed his finger on Lahar's head. "Sleep…"

The man hit the ground in a thud.

Sensing movement, Naruto quickly jumped up. A large boulder sprouted from the ground, charging up to him. It didn't catch him and them stopped. Gracefully, he landed on it and faced Jura.

"I am thankful for what you have done. But as a member of the Wizard Saints, I'm duty bound to heed the directions of the Council."

He took off like a rocket, bursting the boulder. Head first, he was lunging at Jura. The man quickly held out his right hand, lifting it up. A large wall of earth burst from the ground, setting forth in front of him to act as defense. Before he could hit the wall, Naruto vanished in the blink of an eye. A second later, he appeared behind Jura.

"Hmm… I still have it. It has been long since I tested my speed," staring at his left hand, right holding his stuff. He made no attempts to attack Jura. "Because it is merely duty, I shall respect that. However, simply following orders without question is the hallmark of spineless. I guess here they've only requested to question me. But I have no desire to be questioned."

"This creates a problem. If only you can go in for questioning, it ends things. But, if you refuse now, it gives them reason to go after you."

"I will deal with it then. I will not be bullied by those who hide behind weapons of destruction. I also have weapons of destruction," Naruto explained lightly. "I shall retreat for now."

He was gone after saying those words.

* * *

Irene stared at Zeref with an expressionless mask. Surely, he was at her place it was because he wanted something personal. Probably to do with Naruto and their war games. She had no interest, and would rather not get involved. But it was her inside knowledge that complicated things. She did not even bother getting up from her throne like chair to greet the Emperor.

"You done wandering around?"

"Not yet," Zeref said, looking around the place. Sometimes, he could not understand just how Naruto and Irene got along. She was unmoving and the blond was flexible. "I have some questions regarding Naruto's magic. Let us first deal with his sword. And its two forms. I have noticed that both forms have different uses. It is linked to him. Wherever he is, if he summons it, will come. With its magic abilities, there would probably nothing to hold it back.

"My question; is it possible to separate him from his sword? Why is it that he issues commands to activate his magic rather?"

She should have known the day would come. "Naruto has his secrets. I don't know if it possible to separate him it. I guess you'd have to put them in different 'space and time' but most likely, it would cease to exist. Commands? It is merely chants he prefers."

The magic was similar to his. It did nothing but destroy things. Anything it touched became ashes. Zeref had noted as much. But it appeared to take much power from Naruto.

"Can he not use the magic outside of the sword?"

"He told me he could. But the reason he uses the sword is because there is something engraved in it that makes it simpler. Also, the sword makes it possible for him to use that magic even in his dragon force form. Or when employing dragon slaying magic."

"I see, and what about the nature of his dragon slaying magic? He uses fire but it is not really fire, is it?"

"He never told me." Irene stared at the Emperor. "You're focusing on the sword, but is it really Naruto's only piece?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"It does look like the sword is his greatest weapon… maybe it is. But separating him from it will not solve anything."

"Because?"

Irene smiled. "Naruto has thousands of copies of that sword. The difference with the copies is that they are not linked to him. So, they disappear after the magic in them is finished."

He had suspected that Naruto would have made something to counter in weakness with his magic.

"One more thing," Irene, added, still smiling. "You met Naruto before me. So, you must know that he once held a real sword. So, the question to you is, where is that sword? And all that power he had before he attained Dragon Slaying Magic?"


End file.
